The Tutor's Roles and Functions in Online Education. Qualitative Study Within the Context of Worker Training

E-learning education has become a reality that transcends the educational environment. This research focused on continuous education of working people for whom e-learning offers many advantages given the characteristics of this group. The tutoring process is key when introducing improvements and contributing to the progress of this educational experience. The research here presented was intended to analyze the functions performed by teletutors in carrying out their educational function, highlighting e-learning tutoring styles. The methodology employed was qualitative, and in-depth interviews with tutors of 29 online courses were conducted. The data were gathered within the framework of a program of continuous training courses for autonomous workers from small and medium-sized companies.The analyses performed allowed for in-depth study of the dimensions and functions performed by tutors in the educational activity. The Atlas.ti software was used for qualitative analysis that allowed for the construction of several category systems relating to a series of comprehensive theoretical frameworks. Several flow charts were drawn for each one of these theoretical frameworks that allowed for a better understanding of the relationships between the categories and dimensions of each tutor participating in the study. It was also possible to establish tutor typologies according to their roles and functions, the resources used in tutoring and the features that characterize students that participate in e-learning.