Peer mentoring is a widely employed strategy in higher education to foster student development and integration. However, the effectiveness of peer mentoring in higher education lacks well-established statements. A systematic review was conducted to assess the efficacy of peer mentoring during the initial phase of academic studies. This review evaluated effectiveness based on four outcomes: intention to drop out, the sense of belonging, academic and social integration. It also scrutinised gender disparities and distinctions between digital and non-digital, and group-based and individual peer mentoring. The review revealed that peer mentoring is an effective support mechanism, yielding favourable impacts across various outcomes: social and academic integration, career benefits, emotional benefits, soft skills, university-life balance, study dropout intention and sense of belonging to university. Gender disparities were generally inconspicuous in most studies. Digital peer mentoring proved effective, though students reported reduced levels of social support compared to non-digital peer-mentoring. Both individual and group-based peer mentoring programmes were utilised, but specific outcomes distinguishing the two formats were not discerned. In summary, peer mentoring proves to be a valuable resource for first-year students, particularly concerning academic and social integration. To holistically address the diverse needs of first-year students additional approaches may be considered.

中文翻译：

---

学习入门阶段同伴指导的有效性：系统评价

同伴指导是高等教育中广泛采用的一种促进学生发展和融合的策略。然而，高等教育中同伴辅导的有效性缺乏明确的说法。进行了系统审查，以评估学术研究初始阶段同伴指导的有效性。该审查根据四个结果评估了有效性：退学意愿、归属感、学术和社会融合。它还仔细审查了数字和非数字之间的性别差异和区别，以及基于团体和个人的同伴指导。审查显示，同伴指导是一种有效的支持机制，对各种成果产生有利影响：社会和学术融合、职业利益、情感利益、软技能、大学生活平衡、辍学意愿和大学归属感。在大多数研究中，性别差异通常并不明显。事实证明，数字化同伴辅导是有效的，尽管学生们表示，与非数字化同伴辅导相比，社会支持水平有所下降。个人和基于小组的同伴指导计划都得到利用，但区分这两种形式的具体结果尚未明确。总之，同伴指导被证明是一年级学生的宝贵资源，特别是在学术和社会融合方面。为了全面满足一年级学生的多样化需求，可以考虑其他方法。