The effects of cross-age tutoring on underachieving fifth-grade students in the areas of mathematical achievement and self-perception.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cross-age tutoring on underachieving fifth grade students in the areas of mathematical achievement and self-perception. Although much remains to be examined and discovered relative to the rationale and theories that serve as bases for cross-age tutoring, there is mounting evidence that tutoring may increase academic achievement and self-perception. There was a need for such a study because the research on tutoring is contradictory. Some studies show that tutoring is beneficial for students, while other studies indicate that tutoring does not make a difference. Although there is a belief that tutoring is beneficial, the effects of participating in a cross-age tutoring program have yet to be answered by the research community. A one-group pretest/posttest design was utilized. The population consisted of 20 underachieving fifth grade students tutoring 20 underachieving first grade students. Three self-perception subscale measures and two mathematical achievement subscale measures were given to the underachieving fifth grade students before and after the intervention. Significant results beyond the.05 level of confidence were obtained on three of the five hypotheses. The three self-perception subscale measures changed significantly, but decreased over time. The two mathematical achievement subscale measures did not change significantly over time. These findings do not support the intervention of cross-age tutoring as an effective influence on mathematical achievement or self-perception.