Learner Empowerment and Tutorial Practices in Higher Education: A Study of Their Influence on Student Autonomy and Academic Performance

Abstract

This study focused on the relationship between learner empowerment and tutorial and their combined effect on students' autonomy and achievement in Higher education institutions. Mixed methods research design was used with total participants (undergraduate + post graduate students) of 385 and faculty member of 52 from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were collected using structured questionnaires: autonomy support, empowerment dimensions and academic engagement, as well as, semi-structured interviews, which allowed the qualitative perspective on learning experiences to emerge. The results show that teacher autonomy support is an important mediator between learner empowerment and student engagement (β = 0.468, p value < 0.001) which varies under the specific conditions of institutions and student achievement. While more common relationships were found between tutoring practices that emphasized collaborative problem solving and academic self-efficacy (r = 0.612), less commonly used practices, that emphasized student-centered decision-making, similarly showed higher correlations with academic self-efficacy. The findings show that integrated empowerment-oriented tutorial systems not only facilitate the development of learning autonomy of students but also contribute to the improvement of students' academic performance indicators. Overall, the study offers empirical evidence to drive pedagogical changes towards student agency in Indian higher education setting and provides some guidelines for the development of the curriculum and faculty programmes.