In Brief (TL;DR)
The tutor teacher emerges as a strategic figure to prevent school dropout, offering targeted support to guide students on their educational path.
A key role in supporting students in difficulty and preventing them from dropping out of their studies by personalizing their educational path.
This personalized approach aims to support the most vulnerable students, offering them a constant point of reference and a tailored educational path to prevent failure and dropout.
The devil is in the details. 👇 Keep reading to discover the critical steps and practical tips to avoid mistakes.
Early school leaving in Italy represents an open wound in the social and educational fabric. Although recent data show a slight improvement, with the dropout rate standing at 9.8% in 2024, the problem remains urgent and complex. Every year, about 100,000 students leave school before graduating, a number that highlights the need for targeted and innovative interventions. In this scenario, a new strategic figure is emerging with force: the Tutor Teacher. Introduced within the framework of reforms planned by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), this professional is tasked with guiding students, personalizing their educational path, and becoming a fundamental point of reference to prevent them from dropping out.
Tackling the dropout rate means not only looking at the numbers but also understanding the stories of fragility, demotivation, and difficulty hidden behind each individual case. The causes are multiple and often interconnected, ranging from socio-economic factors to a teaching approach that is not always inclusive. The Tutor Teacher fits into this context as an agent of change, a bridge between the student, the family, and the school institution, with the goal of transforming school into a place of growth and opportunity for everyone, with no one left behind. This figure represents a synthesis of tradition and innovation, valuing the human relationship typical of Mediterranean culture and integrating it with modern tools for guidance and personalization.
The Face of Early School Leaving in Italy and Europe
To understand the urgency of this phenomenon, it is essential to analyze the data. In 2024, Italy recorded a school dropout rate of 9.8% among young people aged 18-24, approaching the European target of 9% set for 2030. However, this national figure conceals deep regional disparities. Southern Italy continues to be the most affected area, with an average reaching 12.4%. Regions like Sicily (15.2%) and Sardinia (14.5%) present the most critical situations, well above the national average. Another worrying aspect is the gender gap: boys drop out of school almost twice as often as girls (12.2% versus 7.1%), a figure that reflects complex cultural and social dynamics.
In comparison with the rest of Europe, Italy presents a mixed picture. While there has been an improvement, our country still lags behind many European partners, ranking among those with the highest dropout rates. Nations like Romania, Spain, and Germany record higher or similar rates, highlighting that early school leaving is a common challenge at the continental level. This European context underscores the importance of investing in effective educational policies, such as those planned by the NRRP, which aim to strengthen the school system and provide concrete tools to combat educational failure.
The Roots of the Problem: From Traditional Teaching to Implicit Dropout
Early school leaving is not just the physical act of leaving school. There is a more subtle and equally damaging phenomenon: implicit dropout. This refers to students who, despite attending classes, do not acquire the necessary basic skills. According to OECD-PISA data, about 23% of fifteen-year-old students in Italy show significant deficiencies in reading and mathematics, a sign of fragility that often precedes actual dropout. This problem is closely linked to a teaching model that in many schools remains anchored to frontal lectures and memorization, struggling to adapt to the individual needs of students.
Experts in the field, such as Professor Maria Cinque, emphasize the need to invest in more active and hands-on teaching methodologies that make learning a practical and engaging experience. The rigidity of a system that struggles to balance tradition and innovation can generate demotivation and a sense of inadequacy in the most vulnerable students. The challenge, therefore, is not only to keep students in the classroom but to offer them a quality education that can enhance everyone’s talents and provide the tools to face the future. In this, the role of the Tutor Teacher as a guide to save a student’s future becomes crucial.
The Tutor Teacher: A Key Figure of the NRRP
To address these challenges, the Ministry of Education and Merit, through the Guidelines for Guidance (Ministerial Decree 328/2022), has introduced the figures of the Tutor Teacher and the Guidance Teacher. This reform, funded with 150 million euros from the NRRP for 2023 alone, aims to create a personalized support system for students, particularly those in upper secondary schools. The Tutor Teacher is not just a teacher, but a professional trained to accompany small groups of students on their journey, helping them to recognize their potential and overcome difficulties.
The tutor’s tasks are numerous and strategic. First, they must promote the personalization of learning, constantly dialoguing with students to create a profile of their aptitudes and inclinations. This process is fundamental for enhancing talents and intervening promptly in cases of demotivation or difficulty. Furthermore, the tutor acts as a link with families and works closely with the Guidance Teacher to create a bridge between the student’s aspirations, the educational offerings, and the demands of the job market. This is an integrated approach that aims to make the student an aware protagonist of their own choices.
The Tutor’s Tools: The E-Portfolio and the Student’s “Masterpiece”
To make their intervention concrete and effective, the Tutor Teacher uses innovative tools. One of the main ones is the E-Portfolio, a digital document that accompanies the student throughout their school career. This tool is not just a resume, but a true logbook where the student’s educational experiences, acquired skills, and personal reflections are documented. The E-Portfolio allows for tracking personalized development, including activities such as Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation (PCTO) and other significant projects.
Within the E-Portfolio, an element of great symbolic and educational value is the “masterpiece.” Each year, the student is invited to choose a product or project that they consider particularly representative of their journey and the skills they have developed. This choice, guided by the tutor, stimulates self-assessment and critical awareness. The “masterpiece” becomes a metaphor for the student’s potential, a work that testifies to their growth and talents. Through these tools, the tutor does not just monitor but actively promotes a process of personal discovery and enhancement, which is fundamental for building self-confidence and preventing dropout.
Tradition and Innovation: The Mediterranean Approach to Teaching
The introduction of the Tutor Teacher is part of a broader debate concerning the balance between tradition and innovation in the Italian school system. Mediterranean culture, from which our school system originates, has always placed human relationships and educational dialogue at its center, concepts reminiscent of the ancient Greek figure of the “didàskalos,” a 360-degree educator. This tradition, based on closeness and personal accompaniment, finds a new expression today in the figure of the tutor. They recover the relational dimension of teaching, often sacrificed in contexts of large classes and rigid curricula.
However, the Tutor Teacher also represents a strong push for innovation. The use of digital tools like the E-Portfolio and the adoption of personalized teaching methodologies mark a step forward from the traditional approach. This is an “additive pedagogy,” which does not reject the past but integrates it with new strategies to meet the challenges of the present. In this sense, the Italian school can enhance its “Mediterranean” identity, which promotes not only cognitive skills but also personal and social ones, such as conviviality and relational ability. The tutor becomes the interpreter of this model, capable of combining the wisdom of tradition with the effectiveness of innovation, creating a more inclusive and motivating learning environment for all students. Effective classroom management in this new context is essential, as explored in the guide on effective classroom management by the tutor teacher.
Conclusions
The figure of the Tutor Teacher emerges as one of the most promising and structured responses to the plague of early school leaving in Italy. In a context that, despite showing signs of improvement, remains critical, especially in some areas of the country, this new professional role represents a bet on the future of our students. The approach is not just corrective but profoundly preventive: by acting on the personalization of pathways, the enhancement of talents, and constant dialogue with students and families, the tutor addresses the root causes of the distress that leads to dropping out.
The integration of this figure into the school system, supported by NRRP funds, marks a paradigm shift. It moves from a uniform model to a flexible one that recognizes the uniqueness of each student. The balance between the relational tradition of Mediterranean culture and the innovation of digital tools offers a way to make school a more equitable, inclusive, and stimulating place. The fight against early school leaving is a marathon, not a sprint, but the introduction of the Tutor Teacher has paved a clear and concrete path. The effectiveness of this gentle revolution will depend on the training, support, and collaboration of the entire school system, with the common goal of leaving no one behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the Tutor Teacher and what is their main role?
The Tutor Teacher is a new professional figure introduced in Italian secondary schools, as part of the guidance reform linked to the NRRP. Their main role is to support small groups of students in a personalized way to prevent early school leaving and promote educational success. This professional helps each student recognize their potential, develop a personal and professional life project, and overcome any learning or motivational difficulties through constant dialogue. They act as a point of reference for the student and as a connector between the school, the family, and the Guidance Teacher.
What tools does the Tutor Teacher use to help students?
The Tutor Teacher primarily uses two innovative tools: the E-Portfolio and the student’s “masterpiece.” The E-Portfolio is a digital tool where the student, with the tutor’s guidance, documents their educational path, the skills acquired (including in extracurricular activities like PCTO), and their personal reflections. The “masterpiece” is a project or product that the student chooses each year as representative of their abilities and interests, an exercise that stimulates self-assessment and awareness. These tools are used to track a personalized growth path and to make the student the protagonist of their own learning.
How does a Tutor Teacher differ from a regular teacher?
Unlike a subject teacher, whose primary task is to transmit disciplinary knowledge, the Tutor Teacher has a role that is mainly one of guidance and personalized support. While a teacher works with the entire class, the tutor is dedicated to a small group of students (generally between 30 and 50), allowing for a more direct and individual relationship. Their focus is not so much on performance in a single subject, but on the student’s overall development, their motivation, and their future choices. They collaborate with the class council but have a specific role oriented towards combating school dropout and enhancing individual talents.
What is the connection between the Tutor Teacher and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)?
The establishment of the Tutor Teacher is one of the key reforms planned by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) for the education sector. The NRRP has allocated significant funds, such as the 150 million euros for 2023, to finance the training and activities of about 40,000 tutor and guidance teachers. The goal of the NRRP is to reduce territorial, social, and gender gaps in the Italian education system and to lower the school dropout rate, bringing it in line with European standards. The Tutor Teacher is therefore a strategic tool for achieving these goals, modernizing the school system and making it more inclusive.
How do you become a Tutor Teacher?
To become a Tutor Teacher, a tenured teacher with at least five years of service must express their availability. The selection takes place within individual schools, based on criteria defined by the teaching staff board, which usually favors previous experience in areas such as guidance, combating school dropout, or managing PCTO projects. The selected teachers must then follow a specific 20-hour training course, provided by INDIRE through the “Scuola Futura” platform, aimed at providing the necessary skills to best perform this new and delicate role.
Frequently Asked Questions
The tutor teacher is a teacher with specific training who is tasked with supporting students in their personal and educational growth. Their main objective is to help each student become aware of their potential, enhance their talents, and overcome difficulties. In practice, they help students create a personal e-portfolio, assist them in choosing their course of study, and act as a point of reference and mediator between teachers and families to combat early school leaving.
The tutor teacher intervenes directly to prevent school dropout through the personalization of learning. By analyzing each student’s aptitudes and difficulties, they can propose tailored teaching strategies. They offer emotional support and act as a guide, helping young people manage the stress and difficulties that could affect their performance. By working in synergy with the guidance teacher and the family, they build a path that enhances the student’s abilities, making the school experience more positive and motivating—a key factor in reducing the risk of dropout.
Although both figures collaborate for the student’s success, they have distinct roles. The *tutor teacher* focuses on personalizing learning and the student’s personal development, helping them discover their talents and overcome difficulties. The *guidance teacher*, on the other hand, has a more specific task: to collect and analyze data on the job market and the educational paths available in the area. In practice, the tutor helps the student understand ‘who they are’ and ‘what they can do,’ while the guidance teacher shows them ‘where they can go’ with those skills, facilitating informed choices for the future.
Yes, the tutor teacher, along with the guidance teacher, is a professional figure officially introduced in Italian secondary schools starting from the 2023/2024 school year. Their establishment was made through Ministerial Decree No. 328 of December 22, 2022, and is part of a broader reform linked to the funds of the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) for guidance. The goal of this innovation is to strengthen the school system in combating early school leaving and providing more structured and personalized support to students.
The compensation for a tutor teacher is not fixed but varies based on the resources allocated annually. For the 2024/2025 school year, the salary for the tutor function ranges from a minimum of €1,589.68 to a maximum of €2,725.16 gross for the state. A variable part can be added to this amount, linked to the completion of additional tutoring hours financed with specific funds, such as POC (Complementary Operational Program) projects. This compensation system is linked to the function performed and not simply to the number of hours worked.
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