Insight on How Socio-Economic Minority Student Perceive the Internship Program: a Case Study in South-Eastern of Taiwan Students

Insight on How Socio-Economic Minority Student Perceive the Internship Program: A Case Study in South-Eastern of Taiwan Students Dr. Tsou, Hui-fen, Associate Professor of National Taitung Junior College, Taiwan ABSTRACT It intended to examine the difference between expectations and perceptions of hospitality socio-economic minority students towards their internship program, and to assess the relationship between the difference and overall satisfaction. Altogether, a total of 365 usable questionnaires were returned. The outcomes show that five internship factors of home economic position, parents views, hotel director, personal professional techniques, and colleagues led to student overall satisfaction. Based on the findings, recommendations for hospitality schools, industry, and students were provided in order to enhance the quality of internship programs. INTRODUCTION Since Farinelli and Mann (1994) comment that students themselves believe that internships complement their academic work. Later, 1998, Hymon-Parker also examined and found that internship programs do bridge the gap between education and the actual work environment. Internships really do benefit industries by providing inexpensive sources of competent assistance motivating present employees, and creating opportunities to cultivate prospective future employees (Coco, 2000). However, other researchers (Zigli, 1982; Prato, 1996; Shirley, 1998; IOMA’s Compensation Forum, 2002) look at internships negatively. Zigli (1982) argues that some internship programs are not only unchallenging but also unsatisfactory, and have negative effects on students. Some students argue that they feel bored during internship, and others complain that they sometimes have to work over forty, or sixty to seventy, hours per week. They feel that they are only cheap labor force within their places of internship. The noun of “socio-economic minority” in Taiwan has been defined as “ not only for those “underprivileged” group, but also those who own less power of controlling society, or less opportunity to accept education , to pursuit wealth, and success that those whom people called ”majority” group. LITERATURE REVIEW The origin of internship Four thousand years ago, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi provided that artisans teach their crafts to youth (Ainley & Rainbird, 1999). When youth in earlier centuries achieved the status of craft workers, they became important members in their societies. Today’s apprenticeships are still keeping alive knowledge of many crafts and skills that in other times were passed on largely by family tradition. Fathers taught their sons the crafts in generation after generation. Furthermore, The United States Department of Labor also describes the apprenticeship as “a combination of on-the-job training and related instruction in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation.” If the apprentice is a minor, the parent or guardian also signs. However, an apprenticeship is still different from an internship. Flexner’s (1910) points out that an apprenticeship allows a student to approach a practicing situation without prior knowledge whereas an internship follows an organized period of learning. The first definition of internship was also presented in Webster’s Dictionary (http://www.webster-dictionary.net/ definition/internship) in 1913, which defined it as “The period of time during which a novice in a field serves in a subordinate capacity and continues to gain experience; the learning period before one becomes an expert.” Pierson’s (1959) study notes that the education of American businessman has utilized the internship as a means of preparing their trainees to assume full professional responsibility upon graduation. Taiwan education system and internship After the Sino-Japanese War, the Ching Dynasty ceded Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Makuan in 1895. Japan implemented a colonial educational policy which aimed at assimilation. The educational policy supported three levels: Japanese emigration, Han people, and Taiwan Aborigines. This assimilation educational policy not only suppressed traditional Chinese education, but it also introduced Western-style elementary education. Taiwanese children, however, had limited opportunities to receive education because of the segregation that was adopted in the school system. In 1945, at the end of World War II, Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China (ROC.) The ROC government retained the school faculties and continued to use classrooms and school facilities from the Japanese era, but it abolished the policies of discrimination. The Chinese academic system was adapted, and education was infused with the spirit of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Three Principles of the People (nationalism, democracy, and people's well-being). Also, the education ladder of 6-3-3-4, six year of elementary school, three years each for junior and senior high school, and four years for university/college education, was introduced into Taiwan in 1949 (http://www.edu.tw.) After 1980, the Taiwanese educational system entered an era of transition and reform because the nation’s industrial structure had shifted from a labor-intensive to a capital and technology-intensive base. Because of the dramatic changes in economics, and the labor shortage in the food and beverage industries, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan established the Department of Food and Beverage Management in the National Tam-Shui Senior Vocational High School in 1985. During the three-year program, students are selected to participate in the internship program during their last semester. In Taiwan, Technological and Vocational Education (TVE) includes both technical and handicraft courses taught in junior high schools, senior vocational high schools, and junior colleges as well as in technological institutes and science and technology-oriented universities. There are over 1.3 million students who are included under this system. And in 1994, in response to the request of senior vocational high school teachers of Food and Beverage Management (FBM), the National Kaohsiung Hospitality College (NKHC) was established. Since then, numerous private senior vocational high schools have started to establish FBM programs, and some institutes or universities of science and technology offer similar programs. Since then, over 200 senior vocational high school offered courses in FBM and over100 colleges provided similar departments and training. And almost senior vocational high schools, especially private ones, offer internships as their instrument of recruitment. Both two-year colleges and four-year universities offer the FBM programs with internship during the third- semester and senior with a total of 1200- and 2400- hours in internship as a required core course. (http://www.tajen.edu.tw.) Now the NKHC has been upgrade to NKHU, it is because this was the first professional school devoted exclusively to food service and travel industry management in Taiwan . The perceived advantages of internship Shure (2001) states that internship programs for the students are not only providing work experiences but also concrete knowledge. The author also stresses (2001) that students must complete required courses before taking the internship program. Internships also help schools resolve the high expenses involved in providing needed facilities and equipment (Krasilovsky and Lendt, 1996; Hodgson, 1999). According to Krasilovsky and Lendt (1996), the students also get the chance to meet their future bosses, and have a higher chance of finding a job through the internship program. Daugherty (2001) writes that students get previews of their futures through the internship program. He further states (2002) that the internship allows students to apply theory to matter-of-fact situations. Cates-Mclver (1999) also concurs, noting that the internship program offers students opportunities to apply knowledge learned in the classroom into the real work situation. He concludes that interns can see the direct relationship between their majors under academic training and jobs in industries. Dr. Jerome, a professor of Temple University, strongly argues the importance of the concept of “learning by doing” from John Dewey. He writes that interns attain the understanding of academic theories through the actual situation—the internship. Internships also provide employers with an effective labor pool (Stanton, 1992; Krasilovsky, 1996; Cannon and Arnold, 1998; Terry-Azios, 1999; Swift and Kent, 1999; Hazelwood, 2004). Cannon assumes (1998) that industries benefit from low labor cost and new ideas brought in by the internship program. According to Swift and Kent (1999), not only do industries gain skillful and talent employees, but they also get flexible labor resources which will affect their budget for labor cost. A report related to the wage of internship (“Internship,”1996) explains that even though interns are not entitled to pay during the internship programs, they still gain valuable experience and professional on-the-job training. On the contrary, Swift and Kent (1999) suggest that industries should at least pay the minimum wage to interns. The perceived disadvantages of internship There were few studies discussed the disadvantage of internship. Shirley (1998) proposes making a table showing both strength and weakness of internship from both the educators’ view and the industry’s view. The main weakness argument by the educators is that the internship program lacks adequate placement

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