Showing papers in "Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism in 2012"

A Review of Hospitality Internship: Different Perspectives of Students, Employers, and Educators

Abstract: The internship is one of the most effective models of experiential learning in hospitality education. However, to be successful, it requires the cooperation of students, employers, and educators. This article identifies the role and value of the internship in hospitality education. Its benefits and drawbacks are discussed from the perspectives of the three stakeholders, and an overall assessment is discussed. The article ends by proposing suggestions for future research.

How Important Is Sustainability Education to Hospitality Programs

Abstract: Although sustainability is at the forefront globally, awareness of its importance within the hospitality curriculum of universities in the United States has been limited. This study appraised importance of sustainability education in hospitality curriculums by assessing students, educators, and industry leaders in the United States. Results revealed significant differences between these stakeholders as to environmental attitudes, behaviors, interest in sustainability, and the significance of environmental concerns in a hospitality curriculum. Results also showed how the stakeholders' views were different with regard to the relevance of environmental topics in the hospitality curriculum and how best sustainability theory and practices can be taught.

Environmental Attitudes of Generation Y Students: Foundations for Sustainability Education in Tourism

Abstract: Sustainability is an ongoing theme in the tourism literature and is a growing concern in the wider area of business studies. As a consequence, there has been growing recognition of the need for sustainability education in programs for business and tourism students. The development of such programs needs to be based on a sound understanding of the existing values and attitudes of current students. This article reports a study that explored the environmental attitudes of a sample of Generation Y students in a business and tourism program using the New Environmental Paradigm Scale.

Developing a Conceptual Framework for Measuring Future Career Intention of Hotel Interns

Abstract: Many hotel management students show negative attitudes toward entering the hotel industry. Such attitudes are likely the result of a negative internship experience that may cause a young person to quickly turn away from the industry. At present, work–life balance is recognized as one of the top five important challenges in human resource management. Additionally, different hotel job characteristics would lead to different internship experiences. This article aims to establish a conceptual framework by reviewing the extensive literature on the study of the interrelationship of internship core job characteristics and work–life balance toward general job satisfaction and future career intention of hotel interns.

A Learning Theory Framework for Sustainability Education in Tourism

Abstract: As efforts abound across tourism educator networks to craft plans for guiding educational responses to the threats of tourism to people and the planet, it is worth exploring areas in which such labors might be made more efficient, and thus more timely and productive. In this article, we examine how the concept of learning systems can serve as a useful tool for identifying opportunities to improve sustainability education planning in tourism. We provide a conceptual framework for sustainability education that moves beyond current models by incorporating additional concepts from learning theory and from a 2-year curricular revision process.

Is This for Real? Authentic Learning for the Challenging Events Environment

Abstract: This article explores a set of emerging competencies that education providers will be increasingly compelled to consider and, more importantly, embed in their event management course offerings. The undergraduate event management program offered at Victoria University, Melbourne, provides a case study of the efforts of teaching staff to iteratively and reflectively integrate these emerging competencies into course curriculum, many of which will be required for graduates to successfully transition to work in their career sector of choice—the events industry. The competencies of sustainable development, creativity and innovation, and networking are all seen as vital to graduate outcomes and employability. The fundamental responses to this process are discussed and lead to a distillation of the implications for teaching practice associated with embedding emerging competencies in event management education.

Future Higher Education in Tourism Studies and the Labor Market: Gender Perspectives on Expectations and Experiences

Abstract: Although women prevail among tourism graduates in Portugal, men earn higher salaries and fill most top-level positions in the tourism sector. This study diagnoses disparities between male and female tourism graduates in the following domains: areas of activity, positions, and salary. Expectations of students are compared to the real situation of tourism graduates. Data from a survey covering all Portuguese higher education institutions with tourism degrees were used. It is concluded that male graduates have more favorable situations in employment than female graduates do and that the reality in the labor market is far from corresponding to enrolled students' expectations.

Authentic learning and communities of practice in tourism higher education.

Abstract: This article examines the potential of guest lectures to function as tools for authentic learning in a tourism management program. Using a qualitative interpretive approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with a sample of 20 students from 11 undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Interview questions addressed the guest lectures as well as aspects of social learning insofar as they relate to authentic learning. It is found that guest lectures can contribute to authentic learning by adding an applied dimension to tourism higher education while simultaneously providing inspiration for career choice. Implications for program and curriculum development are considered.

Authentic Learning: My Reflective Journey With Postgraduates

Abstract: Authentic learning is well documented in the education literature, whether drawing upon the dimensions of social capital in which student learning is enhanced through partnerships and group learning or the teacher acting as facilitator. What does this all mean in practice? This reflective article observes a number of practical learning points that embrace the principles of authentic learning as described by the author when making a series of changes to a tourism postgraduate course. This article highlights the role of formalizing incremental learning as a feedback mechanism for nonclassroom learning, which includes the importance of variety in assignments to stimulate creative and critical skills. This article creates a sense of authentic learning through action research, which encompasses a student's construction and negotiation of knowledge, shows how the role of the teacher is that of a facilitator rather than a formal teacher, and finally, presents the difficulties students encounter engaging with thi...

A Framework for Service Learning in Hospitality and Tourism Management Education

Abstract: Service learning has gained substantial recognition as an effective type of pedagogy and has aided in the national movement for enhanced civic education across the disciplines. To date, some tourism and hospitality educators have explored integrating service learning, a type of experiential pedagogy, into their courses; however, there remains a lack of understanding of this type of learning in this field. The purpose of this article is to offer a framework for creating and implementing effective service-learning strategies into hospitality and tourism courses and curriculum.

The learning experiences and preferences of tourism postgraduate students

Abstract: Set within the context of increasingly internationalized student cohorts, this article presents the findings of a study undertaken with a cohort of postgraduate tourism students to identify: (1) students' preferred learning activities (as opposed to learning styles) and (2) students' desired and/or expected skills and experiences that will result from undertaking a postgraduate tourism degree. Based on the findings of a survey undertaken with 101 tourism postgraduate students from the University of Queensland in Australia, the purpose of this article is to share the findings with other tourism educators and practitioners who may also be seeking to better understand the learning needs and expectations of their tourism postgraduate students.

Reforming Higher Education: The Case of Jordan's Hospitality and Tourism Sector

Abstract: This case cites efforts by Jordan's higher education sector to reform policies and practices related to tourism- and hospitality-specialized programs. Technical assistance was provided during the period 2009 to 2011 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Jordan Tourism Development Project. The methodology employed a value-chain approach. Based upon study findings, strategic initiatives, and implementation, actions were recommended to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Jordan. The article concludes with future directions relevant to tourism education outlined in Jordan's National Tourism Strategy.

The Process of Developing a Competency-Based Academic Curriculum in Tourism Management

Abstract: Many tourism academic programs have adopted a competency-based approach in curriculum design to be used in program evaluation. To date, there is significant research on how to identify core and concentration competencies, but there is a lack of investigation into the process of linking competencies to student-learning outcomes or to assessment methods. This study explores the process of creating a competency-based curriculum and suggests a structured procedure for assessing learning outcomes. Detailed steps taken in development of a competency-based curriculum model will be described as will how this process can be used by tourism or other discipline programs.

Learning journals leading to authentic learning in a hospitality context.

Abstract: There is a call for more reflective practices in hospitality education to deliver authentic learning. This article evaluates a learning journal assessment that stimulates both real-world relevance and experience and documents how the assessment was managed. The literature review outlines assessment characteristics and implementation considerations. This empirical article uses both quantitative and qualitative data. It was found that the informality of the assessment, student insecurity, and the lack of structure regarding expectations made the learning journal problematic in the early stages for most students, yet if managed well, it can lead to an authentic learning experience.

Undergraduates' Perceptions Toward the Adoption of Computer-Based Training in Hotels

Abstract: With the rapid advances in technology, the use of computer-based training (CBT) will soon become prevalent in the hospitality industry. This study was conducted with the aim of understanding the perceived beliefs of hospitality management undergraduates toward the adoption of CBT in hotels. A total of 140 usable self-administered questionnaires were collected. Factor analysis revealed three interpretable factors of undergraduates' perceptions of CBT: perceived compatibility, perceived effectiveness, and perceived self-efficacy. The independent t-test and multiple regression analysis were also used to gain a better understanding of differences in perceptions among the respondents and the likely influences of the three identified factors on the intention to use CBT. Suggestions are provided for practitioners and educators to enhance hospitality student and employee perceptions toward the adoption and usage of CBT.

Using YouTube Videos of Anthropology of Tourism Pioneer Valene Smith's Work and Philosophy to Balance the Tourism Curriculum

Abstract: An analysis of four undergraduate tourism textbooks revealed a content imbalance tipped in favor of economics, or the business of tourism. Based on the concept of a balanced and interdisciplinary pedagogy implied by the Tourism Education Futures Initiative core values of stewardship, mutuality, and knowledge, YouTube videos highlighting the six-decade career and work of cultural anthropologist Valene Smith were introduced into two undergraduate tourism classes. The videos immediately augmented the curriculum with sociocultural content, exposed students to the anthropological foundations of tourism, and furthered an interdisciplinary approach to tourism education. The easily adopted Web 2.0 technology was well received by Net Generation students.

A case for the utilization of a scaffolding case study in travel and tourism education.

Abstract: This research examines how an instructional intervention helped undergraduate college students develop intercultural competence in the context of a regular travel and tourism undergraduate university course. The rationale for this instructional intervention is based on the need for intercultural-competent individuals in the travel and tourism industry. The instructional intervention, called a scaffolding case study, created metacognitive stimuli to promote the students' intercultural competence development. The results show that when using the scaffolding case study, the number of students who showed intercultural competence development increased and their levels of intercultural competence increased as well. These outcomes reinforce the understanding among researchers that intercultural competence is not innate, that it must be learned. This study contributes to the literature on authentic learning pedagogy effectiveness as intercultural competence education is wanting in American travel and tourism curr...

Hospitality and tourism education in Uganda: an integrative analysis of students' motivations and industry perceptions.

Abstract: This article presents an integrative analysis of students' motivations in choosing hospitality and tourism programs as well as industry perceptions of graduates' qualifications for employment in Uganda. A mixed-method approach is used for data collection, analysis, and reporting. Quantitatively, the study replicates a motivational scale of choosing educational programs and identifies six factors that collectively explain about 60% of the variance in students choosing hospitality and tourism programs in this African developing economy. Industry perceptions of graduates' qualifications for employment are reported on the basis of qualitative interviews. Implications of the study are discussed in light of curriculum and program refinement to better prepare future graduates for the industry.

Interdisciplinarity in higher education courses for tourism: the case of Croatia.

Abstract: This article aims to demonstrate the similarities and differences between undergraduate tourism curricula in Europe and the Republic of Croatia from an interdisciplinary perspective Research has revealed similarities relating to the duration, titles, and number of courses The frequencies of occurrence of noneconomic subjects in European and Croatian courses are alike, although the scope of interdisciplinarity in European courses is much broader The article puts together a model of an undergraduate tourism program based on interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity in Croatia A scenario for developing interdisciplinarity in tourism curricula, which pursues a holistic approach and the general systems theory, is selected