This research builds on the rising interest in the concept of the Learning Organisation and is intended as a contribution to the literature on tutor development. Its key premise is that if universities are to become learning organisations on the lines suggested by Peter Senge (1990) and others, then tutors will play a crucial role in this process. Student learning is affected by the competency of tutors, and training in turn plays an important part in developing effective teaching skills among tutors. This paper discusses the results of a 2004 training needs analysis conducted at a New Zealand university. In doing so, it draws upon both a survey and interviews with tutors and course co-ordinators. Though the findings reveal that tutors are relatively satisfied with what the university is doing to address their needs, there are still gaps. This paper offers a reading based on select aspects of Senge’s notion of “learning disabilities” and focuses on barriers to learning encountered by the tutors and how these may be remedied. The paper suggests that comparative research on the role and utilisation of tutors in universities in other countries would be a fruitful avenue for future studies. Research, however does not take place in a conceptual vacuum, and the paper argues that organisational theory, and specifically Senge’s Learning Organisation concept provides a valuable framework within which to analyse the role of tutors and to seek ways in which the university may learn to deploy them better.

Keywords: learning organisation, tutors, learning disabilities