Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10397/85051
Title: A curriculum framework for hospitality and tourism higher education in Indonesia : an exploratory study
Authors: Oktadiana, Hera
Degree: Ph.D.
Issue Date: 2016
Abstract: This study seeks to develop a distinctive framework of graduate profiles and curriculum for the vocational and academic Bachelor programs of Indonesia's hospitality and tourism higher education. Hospitality and tourism education was established in Indonesia 50 years ago in 1965. It was not until 2008, however, that hospitality and tourism education received recognition from the Directorate General of Higher Education as a field of study. This acknowledgement resulted in the opening of the academic Bachelor and postgraduate programs in hospitality and tourism. Previously, hospitality and tourism studies were only offered at the diploma levels, which varied from a one year to a four year diploma. The four year diploma is known as a vocational Bachelor or Diploma IV (D IV). The emergence and existence of both academic and vocational Bachelor degrees and are also aligned with the growth of Indonesia's tourism as a major and growing economic activity of the country. It is expected that robust growth in tourism and hospitality services will continue in the foreseeable future. To promote and sustain the expansion of the Indonesian tourism industry, well-trained and well-educated individuals for various levels and types of occupations are required. Well founded and effective academic and vocational education courses are needed to build these national human resources. Both the vocational and the academic Bachelor programs which are the focus of this study are positioned at level six in the Indonesian Qualification Framework. This rating system is the principal basis of Indonesia's education structure. While the categorization level is clear, ambivalence towards the offerings and ambiguity about their goals and delivery styles persist. Replication and similarity can be found in the content of the curriculum, mission statements, and the aims and objectives of the programs. This has led to a great confusion for the key internal and external stakeholders, such as students, parents, and industry people. Consequently, there is an urgent need to reform the current curriculum of both Bachelor programs. This study adopts an interpretive approach using qualitative research tools. The perspectives from four groups of stakeholders, educators, students, industry practitioners, and government officials, are accessed and considered as the basis for developing the framework. Data obtained from the in-depth semi structured interviews with the stakeholders were analyzed using NVivocontent analysis. Trustworthiness of the data was gained through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. All ethical concerns in conducting the study were met.
The results indicate that Indonesia's tourism indubitably needs two types of individuals: those who excel in planning, concept development, and strategy for tourism development (e.g. tourism planners, policy makers, scholars), and those who are capable of implementing the strategies and conducting the day-to-day operations (e.g. operation manager, front line staff, tour guides). The former can be fulfilled by the academic style of the education and the later by the vocational mode. Although the findings show some integrated elements in the curriculum of both Bachelor programs, it can be concluded that through the separation of underpinning educational philosophies, aims and objectives, content, learning and instruction, and assessment, the differences between the academic and vocational Bachelors can actually be articulated and are possible. The framework considered and built in this study emphasizes the reflection and action conception that are based on the eclectic educational philosophies to define the main purposes of the academic and the vocational Bachelor programs and their curriculum components. To produce human resources who can satisfy the country's diverse hospitality and tourism positions, the purposes of the academic strand should be promoting tourism stewardship and tourism knowledge based on the reflection and action, while the vocational mode is endorsing essential knowledge and skills for employability that built upon the notions of action and reflection. The content of the academic program, therefore, should promote knowledge and skills leading to higher-order thinking skills through the application of theories, experience, exploration, and reflection. On the other hand, the vocational mode should emphasize knowledge and transferable skills leading to growth and employment through (real-world) experience, exploration, and reflection. In terms of the learning and instruction, the amalgamation of learning approaches (constructivism, cognitive behaviour modification and neo-behaviorism) can be applied for both programs. Nevertheless, the constructivism approach that is reinforced with the critical view should inform the academic style, whereas cognitive behaviour modification and neo-behaviorism approaches should support the vocational mode. Concerning the assessment, a mixture of traditional assessment (teacher-made assessments) and authentic assessment (performance and product/portfolio) are appropriate for both programs. The focus of assessment, however, can be specified into complex knowledge (metacognitive knowledge), essential skills, and process, for the academic style, and the expert skills/capabilities (procedural knowledge), essential knowledge, and the product, for the vocational camp. The framework generated from this study can contribute to the reconsideration of curriculum development for Indonesia's hospitality and tourism undergraduate programs. Furthermore, the results may help reframe hospitality and tourism education discussions in other ASEAN and developing countries that have similar issues concerning academic and vocational education. The development of ideas about the educational philosophies which underpin curriculum, and the holistic examination of key curriculum components may also be of assistance in augmenting the analysis of hospitality and tourism education literature globally.
Subjects: Tourism -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Indonesia.
Hotel management -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Indonesia.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Pages: xiv, 358 pages : illustrations
Appears in Collections:Thesis

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