Peer mentoring, university dropout and academic performance before, during, and after the pandemic in Spain

Aitana González-Ortiz-de-Zárate, Miguel Aurelio Alonso-García, María de los Ángeles Gómez-Flechoso and Irene Aliagas

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2025, vol. 113, issue C

Abstract: Peer mentoring programs in higher education aim to facilitate student integration and enhance both retention and academic performance. This study investigated the effectiveness of a peer mentoring program at a Spanish university over five academic years (2018–19–2022–23), encompassing the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing a quasi-experimental posttest-only control group design, we analyzed data from 4962 students (mentees: n = 2481; controls: n = 2481). Statistical analyses included independent t-tests, Cohen's d, phi coefficient, chi-square tests, and two-way ANOVA. Results demonstrated significantly lower dropout rates and higher academic performance among mentees compared to controls across all study years. These positive effects were observed inconsistently across most of the studied student characteristics, including gender, study choice order, region of origin, and field of study. Furthermore, our findings supported the mediating role of academic performance in the relationship between peer mentoring and dropout. This research provides valuable empirical evidence that supports the theoretical frameworks on peer mentoring, student development, and successful integration within the context of higher education, particularly during times of crisis.

Keywords: Peer mentoring; University dropout; University withdrawal; Academic performance; COVID (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149718925001430
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:113:y:2025:i:c:s0149718925001430

DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2025.102676

Access Statistics for this article

Evaluation and Program Planning is currently edited by Jonathan A. Morell

More articles in Evaluation and Program Planning from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().