The Effects of Cross-Age Peer Tutoring on an Emotionally Disturbed Student as a Tutor
Audra Kaiser
December 2002
The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of using an emotionally disturbed
student as a cross-age peer tutor. Theoretical and experimental studies related to crossage peer tutoring among emotionally disturbed students were reviewed to show the
impact of tutoring on reading skills, social skills, and self-esteem. This study
hypothesized that an eleventh-grade emotionally disturbed student who is a peer tutor
would show no improvement in her attendance, reading level, and number of behavioral
time-outs as a result of her work as a cross-age peer tutor. This was investigated using a
case study design. The number of behavioral time-outs, reading level, and attendance
prior to, during, and after the tutoring experience of the student were recorded. The
results of this study supported one part of the original hypothesis and rejected the other
two portions of the hypothesis. The support was evident that an eleventh-grade
emotionally disturbed student who is a peer tutor would show no improvement in her
reading skills.