Experiential Learning in Tourism Education in the North Cyprus Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2164

KENAN BAŞARAN Experiential Learning in Tourism Education in the North Cyprus Tourism KENAN BAŞARAN Experiential Learning in Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2164 KENAN BAŞARAN Experiential Learning in Tourism Education in the North Cyprus AUT 2164 AUT KENAN BAŞARAN Experiential Learning in Tourism Education in the North Cyprus ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Board of the School of Education of the University of Tampere, for public discussion in the auditorium Virta 109, Åkerlundinkatu 5, Tampere, on 27 May 2016, at 12 o’clock. UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE KENAN BAŞARAN Experiential Learning in Tourism Education in the North Cyprus Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2164 Tampere University Press Tampere 2016 ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere School of Education Finland The originality of this thesis has been checked using the Turnitin OriginalityCheck service in accordance with the quality management system of the University of Tampere. Copyright ©2016 Tampere University Press and the author Cover design by Mikko Reinikka Distributor: [email protected] https://verkkokauppa.juvenes.fi Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2164 Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 1663 ISBN 978-952-03-0111-8 (print) ISBN 978-952-03-0112-5 (pdf) ISSN-L 1455-1616 ISSN 1456-954X ISSN 1455-1616 http://tampub.uta.fi Suomen Yliopistopaino Oy – Juvenes Print 441 729 Tampere 2016 Painotuote CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................................... 3 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ 5 LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. 5 LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………… .............. 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 1, INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 12 1.1 North Cyprus as a Research Context ............................................................ 12 1.2 Tourism Industry in North Cyprus ................................................................ 13 1.3 Education Industry in North Cyprus ............................................................ 14 1.4 Statement of the Problem................................................................................ 17 1.5 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................ 18 1.6 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 19 1.7 Significance of the Study ................................................................................. 20 1.8 Organization of the Study ............................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 2, EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AS THEORETICAL BASIS OF THE RESEARCH STUDY .............................................................. 23 2.1 Experience and Education .............................................................................. 24 2.2 Developments of Experiential Learning ....................................................... 27 2.3 Learning and Cognitive Development .......................................................... 28 2.4 Experiencial Learning Model .......................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 3, REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ................................................................................................................ 34 3.1 Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality Education .................................. 34 3.1.1 Importance of Tourism and Hospitality Education .................. 34 3.1.2 Historical Development of Tourism and Hospitality Education ......................................................................................... 35 3 3.1.3 Developments of Tourism and Hospitality Education in North Cyprus .............................................................................. 38 3.2 Required Competencies of Tourism and Hospitality Industry ................. 40 3.2.1 Leadership Skills in Tourism and Hospitality Industry ............. 44 3.2.2 Interpersonal Skills in Tourism and Hospitality Industry ............................................................................................. 47 3.3 Employability Skills in Tourism and Hospitality Industry ......................... 50 3.4 Internship in Tourism and Hospitality Education ...................................... 53 3.5 Research on Tourism and Hospitality Education Curricula ...................... 55 3.5.1 Need for Tourism and Hospitality Education Curricula .......... 55 3.5.2 Content and Emphasis of Tourism and Hospitality Education Curricula ........................................................................ 57 3.5.3 Skill-based Curricula for the New Millenium ............................. 60 CHAPTER 4, CONDUCTING THE RESEARCH .................................................. 63 4.1 Research Strategy .............................................................................................. 63 4.2 Research Design ................................................................................................ 64 4.3 Participants ........................................................................................................ 71 4.4 Data Collecting Instruments ........................................................................... 74 4.4.1 Focus Group Discussions ............................................................. 76 4.4.2 Structured Interviews ..................................................................... 78 4.4.2.1 Industry Representatives’ Interview ................................ 79 4.4.2.2 Internship Students’ Interview ......................................... 80 4.4.3 Faculty Staff Questionnaire ........................................................... 80 4.4.4 Secondary Data ................................................................................ 81 4.5 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 82 CHAPTER 5, RESULTS: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ............................................... 85 5.1 Perceptions of Senior Students on Learning in THM Programme .......... 86 5.2 Perceptions of Faculty Staff on Teaching in THM Programme ............... 97 5.3 Perceptions of Internship Students on Training Practices ...................... 102 5.4 Perceptions of Supervisors on Internship Students Practices ................. 105 CHAPTER 6, ANALYSES AND DISCUSSIONS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................................................................................ 108 6.1 Shareholders’ Expectations of Required Competencies ........................... 109 6.2 Shareholders’ Perceptions of Experiential Learning ................................. 112 6.3 Comparing Perceptions of Shareholders on Required Competencies and Experiential Learning ................................................... 114 6.4 Programme Challenges to Industry Needs ................................................. 115 4 CHAPTER 7, THEORETICAL FINDINGS ............................................................ 121 7.1 Theoretical Finding of the Study: “Theoractive Learning” ....................... 121 7.2 Ethical Consideration ..................................................................................... 125 7.3 Trustworthiness of Results ............................................................................ 125 7.4 Limitations of the Study ................................................................................ 129 7.5 Final Words ..................................................................................................... 129 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 131 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... 154 Appendix A Focus Group Interview Guide ......................................................... 154 Appendix B Industry Questionnaire ...................................................................... 155 Appendix C Trainee Questionnaire ........................................................................ 156 Appendix D Faculty Questionnaire ........................................................................ 157 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Structure of the dissertation ....................................................................... 22 Figure 2 The relationship between theory and practice ........................................ 25 Figure 3 Dewey’s learning process ........................................................................... 26 Figure 4 Levin’s feedback process ............................................................................ 28 Figure 5 Piaget’s learning and cognitive development .......................................... 29 Figure 6 Kolb’s experiential learning cycle .............................................................. 30 Figure 7 Maxwell’s interactive model of research design ...................................... 66 Figure 8 Structure of research design map .............................................................

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