Help to self-help: Scaffolding help in Systematised Reciprocal Peer Tutoring (SYKL) in Danish L1 classrooms

This study explores the implementation of Systematised Reciprocal Peer Tutoring (Danish abbreviation: SYKL) in 4th-grade Danish L1 classrooms (students aged 10–11), with the aim of enhancing students’ socio-academic participation. SYKL is a structured peer tutoring approach that simultaneously promotes social relationships and academic inclusion. It involves explicit instruction for both teachers and students on how to support one another and engage in meaningful academic dialogue during pair work, with students alternating roles as tutor and tutee. Drawing on video observations and focus group interviews, the analysis examines the scaffolding of reciprocal help within SYKL. The findings indicate that socio-academic participation can be enhanced when pair work is scaffolded through curriculum integration and student pairing (macro-scaffolding), metacommunication and task design (meso-scaffolding), and students’ own micro-level peer scaffolding. Although scaffolded peer tutoring places significant responsibility on students, the teacher’s role remains central in designing tasks, pairing students, and modelling collaboration. The article contributes to the growing body of research on peer tutoring by emphasising the importance of scaffolding in promoting participation and learning in same-age peer interactions.