Fostering Self-Authorship Through Work Integrated Learning in University Tourism Programs: A Missed Opportunity?

Abstract

Work integrated learning (WIL), in its various forms, continues to be a central element of university tourism programs. Internships, the most common form of WIL, provide opportunities for both personal and professional development. This article presents findings of a content analysis of WIL programs in Australian tourism, hospitality and events (TH&E) undergraduate degrees. Publicly available unit/subject guides were gathered through an internet-based review. This analysis of secondary data identified that the majority of WIL curricula in the Australian university TH&E programs focus on career development, followed by academic achievement and thirdly, personal development. It is argued that the opportunity to facilitate students' personal growth and the achievement of advanced learning outcomes through WIL is not being fully realised.Through the lens of 'self-authorship', meaning in this case, the student's use of their internal voice to guide their beliefs, identity and relationships, this paper explores the opportunities for WIL programs to be (re)designed to meet industry needs while also facilitating the individual, personal development of future tourism, hospitality and events leaders.

Students' perspective of internship in vocational higher education

“…One of the main benefits of WIL is the saving of time and money that future hospitality employers would spend on long-term trainings (Vukic & Vukic, 2018). In addition to employers, HEIs also benefit from WIL because industry requirements foster creation of relevant and attractive tourism and hospitality curricula (Caldicott, Wilson, Donnelly, & Edelheim, 2019). A proactive nature of internship helps different types of stakeholders to get connected and create an environment which will ensure hospitality HE to be equipped with latest skills and knowledge from industry (Nicolaides, 2015).…”