Dr. Dianne DredgeSchool of Tourism & Hospitality Management, Southern Cross University

April 2013

Project team: Pierre Benckendorff, Michele Day, Mike Gross, Maree Walo, Paul Weeks, Paul Whitelaw

“Building a Stronger Future: Balancing liberal and professional education

ideals in tourism, hospitality and events education”

Project Summary

External factors

Global restructuring, competition, harmonisation, quality assurance

Blurring of boundaries between universities and VocEd providers

Academic, student & institutional mobilities

Competition and the race to secure the pipeline

Market/student-driven system

Academic workforce ‘under the hammer’

Industry is ‘doing it tough’

Industry capacity to develop career profile for graduates hasn’t eventuated

Alignment between degrees and career paths are unclear

Internal factors

The industrialisation of teaching

Teaching & learning pedagogy and advances

Quality assurance and standardisation

Casualisation of staff with consequences for curriculum content, assessment, pedagogy, delivery, etc.

Tensions between a curriculum for industry or for societal goals

Academic/institutional identity is confused

The project:“Building a stronger future:

Balancing professional and liberal education ideals in undergraduate tourism and hospitality education”

Website:

www.tourismhospitalityeducation.info

Four challenges the project addresses:

Conceptualise the TH&E curriculum space

Understand its historical development and contemporary influences on the TH&E curriculum space

Understanding stakeholder perspectives on the curriculum space

Map the TH&E curriculum space

Conceptualising the curriculum space

Issues Paper No. 1: Key issues in tourism, hospitality and events curriculum design and development

We needed to better understand the curriculum space as a dynamic and flexible space where students, managers and educators co-create

the content, delivery and experience of learning

Curriculum

KnowingKnowing

BeingActing

GENERAL SCHEMACURRICULA IN ARTS &

HUMANITIES

Being

Acting

KnowingKnowing

Being

Acting

KnowingKnowing

CURRICULA IN SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGIES

Being

Acting

KnowingKnowing

CURRICULA IN PROFESSIONAL SUBJECTSSource: Barnett and Coate, 2005

Education as knowing, being and doing

The Philosophic Practitioner

[Knowing]

[Doing]

BeingActing

KnowingKnowing

KNOWLEDGE

DOING

Expert practice

Basic skills

Simple concepts Complex knowledge

Life-wide/long learning

See Dredge, D., Benckendorff, P., Day, M., Gross, M., Walo, M., Weeks, P. & Whitelaw, P. 2012. The Philosophic Practitioner and the Curricula Space, Annals of Tourism Research, 39 (2012), pp. 2154-2176.

Influences on the TH&E curriculum space

Issues Paper No. 2: Influences on Australian tourism, hospitality and events undergraduate education

We needed to better understand TH&E undergraduate programs in Australia, their historical development and future possibilities

Influences on the TH&E Curriculum Space

Hospitality, tourism and events programs have very different origins

62 separate TH&E degrees (84 if separate majors within degree are counted)

Dual sector universities offer certificate and diploma course that articulate into degrees – all dual sector universities currently offer TH&E programs

Key pressures include:

Linking of higher education policy to economic policy goals

Neoliberal (new public) management

Bologna, the European Qualifications Framework and harmonisation

Professional and accrediting bodies

11

STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES ON THE TH&E curriculum space

Issues Paper No. 3: A stakeholder approach to curriculum development in TH&E education

We needed to better understand stakeholder perspectives on the TH&E undergraduate programs in Australia

12

Liberal vs vocational balance of stakeholders

13

Stakeholder attitudes of practical and theoretical aspects of the curriculum space

Student vs educator perceptions of the curriculum space by university cluster

14

Stakeholder attitudes of practical and theoretical aspects of the curriculum space

Mapping the TH&E curriculum space

Issues Paper No. 4: Analysis of Australian TH&E undergraduate education programs

We needed to map TH&E undergraduate programs in Australia

15

Distribution of units of study by major theme across the whole curriculum space:

- 45% TH&E subjects- 40% Business/commerce subjects- 8% Research components- 6% work integrated learning- 1% other subjects

Cluster 1- sandstone universitiesCluster 2- New universities 1950-1976

Cluster 3- Post 1976 universitiesCluster 4- TAFE & private providers Distribution (no. of units)

Distribution of TH&E courses in the curriculum space

Observations on strategy

TH&E education in global higher education – quality, standards and standardization

Knowledge, skills and professional practice

Curriculum is shaped by global-local forces, managerial values, educational philosophies, context-specific factors

Homogeneity vs. differentiation

Internal barriers to post-disciplinarity

Accreditation and professional bodies

Observations on Content

Ethics and values

Sustainability

Internationalization & cultural competence

Work integrated learning, service learning, problem based learning, reflexive practice learning

Curriculum mapping subjects and programs

Assessment development and alignment

ICT environments and creative possibilities

Creativity, inspirational teaching practice

Project Evaluation The project is perhaps the most comprehensive study of education for

tourism and hospitality and events that has ever been undertaken at an international level. This, plus the overall quality and rigour of the work, and the fact that university systems in all parts of the developed world are facing similar issues and having to make similar decisions, means that the authors of this project will be called upon to talk about their work for a number of years to come (Prof David Airey, Evaluation Report, p.10)

The mapping of the curriculum space and the location on this space of programmes in different universities represents a significant contribution to an understanding of the nature of education for these subject areas. This will provide crucial background material for anyone seeking to make strategic decisions and to understand the provision of TH&E education (Prof David Airey, Evaluation Report, p.10)

Congratulations on this landmark project, which makes an unmatched (to my knowledge) contribution to this discipline area.  I have enjoyed reading the final report, the excellent evaluation report and the issues papers very much.  The documents give a clear and unblinking account of your discipline and of the project’s exemplary operation. I really liked the way you engaged such a huge group of institutions through the use of project champions (Siobhan Lennihan, OLT Director of Grants & Fellowships)

Selected Project Outputs Journal Articles

Dredge, D., Benckendorff, P., Day, M., Gross, M., Walo, M., Weeks, P. & Whitelaw, P. (2012). The philosophic practitioner and the curriculum space, Annals of Tourism Research, 39(4): 2154-2176.

Dredge, D., Benckendorff, P., Day, M., Gross, M., Walo, M., Weeks, P. & Whitelaw, P. (2013 in press). Drivers of change in tourism, hospitality and event education: an Australian perspective, Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Education, Scheduled for inclusion in issue 2, 2013.

Issues Papers: Issues Paper No. 1. Key issues in Australian tourism, hospitality and events curriculum design

and development Issues Paper No. 2. Influences on Australian tourism, hospitality and events undergraduate

education Issues Paper No. 3. A stakeholder approach to curriculum development in tourism, hospitality

and events education Issues Paper No 4. An analysis of the tourism, hospitality and events education undergraduate

programs Final Report. Building a stronger future: Balancing professional and liberal education ideals in

tourism and hospitality education Routledge Handbook of Tourism, Hospitality and Events Education 2014 (David Airey, Dianne

Dredge & Mike Gross) Website (www.tourismhospitalityeducation.info) Seven conference presentations More details on the website

Questions

Website: www.tourismhosptalityeducation.info

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