Validation of an Evaluation Tutoring Task Scale at the University

Introduction: Recent investigations have emphasized the need for university teachers to develop tutorial programs for students at university. Many universities are committed to broadening research on university teaching that will sharpen academic performance and levels of student satisfaction. Tutoring programs improve the development of the teaching-learning process and reduce student drop-out rates. However, it is necessary to step up teacher training in the evaluation of prior knowledge, in procedures for continuous assessment and in teaching-learning methodologies for project-based learning. Likewise, instruments with high levels of reliability and validity are needed, to measure the effectiveness of these tutorial-programme-based techniques. The objectives of our study are twofold: to validate a scale for measuring the development of the Tutorial Program and to test whether the department to which the teacher-tutor belongs influences the evaluation of the Tutorial Program. Method: A sample of 237 university professors at the University of Burgos from 16 departments participating in the Tutorial Program is analyzed in this study. Results. The results of the study with regard to the first objective indicate high overall reliability of the scale (alpha = 0.93) and of inter-item correlation (alpha = 0.92 to alpha = 0.93). With regard to the second objective, significant differences are found between departments. Discussion and Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the need to increase teacher training in orientation tutoring.