Tourism Education in Indonesia - Essay Example

Introduction Chapter two sought to critically examine different frameworks of tourism education. The chapter focused on reviews of other studies related to tourism education in developing as well as the developed countries. However, the chapter focused on tourism education in Indonesia. This chapter has also been designed to outline the methodological framework upon which other studies were conducted in order to establish the gaps that may exist in this particular area of study. Tourism education development- Basic concepts In order to establish the level of development of tourism in Indonesia, there are various questions that ought to be answered. The major question is: What is tourism education? The other important concept to consider is to establish the difference between tourism education and tourism training. The other important question that sought to be addressed by the study is: How has tourism education developed in Indonesia? More importantly, the chapter sought to explore the concepts and methods used in delivering tourism education in the learning as well as teaching process. The chapter also sought to explore the level of tourism in the Indonesian Higher education. Tourism education has rapidly developed during the past two decades in different parts of the world. For instance, the first degrees in travel and tourism were offered in the 1980s in the UK (Messenger, 1991). This trend has slowly spread to other countries both developing and developed. Research has shown that this trend is a bit similar in developing as well as developed countries. However, there has been debate about whether to consider tourism as a discipline on its own. This is mainly because it is widely viewed as an emerging discipline which has not yet fully developed. The group that argues that tourism is a discipline on its own state that there have been different distinctive concepts peculiar to the tourism industry that have developed during the recent past (Leiper, 2000). For instance, the main destination ratio is a concept specifically meant for the tourism industry (Leiper, 1981). The Australian Standard Research Classification asserts to the notion that tourism has been long identified as However, the other group argue that tourism cannot be regarded as a discipline on its own as a result of the fact that it lacks integrated frameworks that have been developed in various disciplines in different researches. In actual fact, they argue that there are few or no theories that have been specifically developed for this area of study which means that it cannot be regarded as a discipline on its own. The underlying framework is that the study of tourism cannot be grounded in a specific theoretical framework. The concepts that are commonly used in tourism such as tourism impacts, yield management and the destination have been contextualised in other studies before (Tribe, 1997). As such, they argue that there are no specific concepts that have been specifically proposed strictly for the tourism industry. This makes tourism unfit to be classified as a discipline on its own. Apart from the debate about whether to consider tourism as a discipline on its own or not, it can be noted that tourism education has exponentially develop especially in the developed countries. For instance, in 2002, Australia had more than 30 institutions that offered tourism studies (Pearce, 2002). Jaffari (1990) also concurs with this assertion when he states that the US has also experienced rapid growth of tourism education witnessing more than 100 institutions offering studies in this discipline. The trend has been the same in the UK and other developed countries that seen a large number of tertiary institutions offering tourism studies. Another area that has also sparked debate is about making a distinction between tourism education and training. In theory, these two are different. Education is about analytical thinking and conceptual issues related to professional development of the person. Gunn (1994) has defined tourism education as the study of various elements that are involved in the tourism industry. From Gunn’s definition of tourism education, it can be noted that this discipline encompasses diverse aspects of tourism which entails that it forms an umbrella body of training. On the other hand, training is more concerned about the practical skills that are gained that can help an individual to improve his or her performance in a certain discipline. In practice, it can be noted that the difference between the two is very unclear. For instance, polytechnics are mainly intended for offering practical course in tourism while universities are responsible for theoretical course such as management but there is an overlap since both institutions cross their boundaries. As such, one interesting thing about the study is that tourism education in Indonesia has been developed on the same models of the other developed countries where degree and non degree programs are offered in different institutions. Tourism education seeks to create a deep understanding of interacting factors in the sector. Basically, tourism is often viewed as a system that is comprised of different factors that are interdependent. For instance Mill & Morrison (1998) view tourism as a system comprising of four factors namely market, marketing, travel and destination. These factors operate like a vicious circle in that they are interdependent and they also determine the demand and supply factors in this particular industry. Therefore, an attempt to understand how tourism as a system operates is the basic foundation of tourism education. However, there are also various elements related to the tourism sector that need to be conceptualised in order for us to generate more knowledge and insight into this particular industry. Training as noted is mainly concerned with imparting the necessary skills among the people involved in the tourism industry so that they can deliver quality services to the tourists. Therefore, tourism education covers broader aspects of the industry as a whole compared to training which specifically focuses on certain aspects of the tourism sector. In practice, it can be seen that tourism education is specifically concerned with offering knowledge based and performance based education. This helps the graduate to be marketable when they look for employment after the completion of their studies. Hospitality is the other area that is related to tourism. Researchers have indicated that hospitality is an integral part of tourism since the students need to know components that are related to hotel and catering given that these areas are favourable to tourists. It may not be possible to teach students things related to tourism while ignoring hospitality issues. As such, tourism education in Indonesia has also been developed in such a way that it encompasses the study of travel and hospitality since they are components of the tourism sector. A holistic approach ought to be taken in order to develop the tourism curriculum in Indonesia so that it can meet the standard expectations set by different international tourism bodies. History and development of tourism education and training in Indonesia The Indonesian government realised in the early 90s that tourism could be a major economic booster if properly harnessed. Following that realization, it can be seen that various programs have been initiated by the government to boost the industry. For instance, it introduced the “Visit Indonesia Year” with the aim of stimulating the tourism sector in this particular country (DTPT, 1997). Major strides were made by the government to develop tourist attractions as well as other related infrastructure in this sector. The major reason for taking this course of action was to spruce up the image of the country so that it could attract many tourists who in turn would bring forex to the country. Historically, it can be observed that tourism education in Indonesia started around 1957 when a non profit organization known as Indonesia Tourism Council was formed. The major aim of ITC was to support the government in developing the tourism sector. As a result of this initiative, the tourism industry began to grow exponentially. This resulted in the growing demand for human resources to work in this industry in order to meet the needs of the tourists. This stimulated growth and development of training institutions to cater for the growing needs of the workers in this sector especially with regards to knowledge and skills development. The first academy of tourism was established in 1967 in Bandung by the Department of Tourism Post. From then on, there has been a steady growth of private institutions offering education and training in the tourism field. From only one institution in 1967 which offered education in tourism, the number increased to 140 in 2000 (Directorate General of Higher Education, 2000). Various programs were offered from diploma level, non degree course to degree courses including Master degrees. However, research has shown that the studies offered had a strong orientation towards hospitality programs since these account for about 90% of the total programs offered. However, there has been slow growth of tourism education in universities in Indonesia. The first tourism programs to be offered in university started around the 1990s. It can be seen that lack of tourism education in universities has created a gap in this sector since this means that the area of research and planning lacks skilled people. At least, this gap can be closed if more people are developed and trained at higher institutions like universities. The other notable constraint in tourism education in Indonesia is that there are limited qualified tourism educators. The main factor contributing to low levels of tourism education in Indonesia is that there is no clearly outlined government policy that encourages universities to offer degree programs in tourism. As it stands, non degree programs have been prevalent in this particular sector which means that more needs to be done in order to develop tourism education in this country. Current state of tourism education in higher institutions of learning in Indonesia There are difficulties for the Indonesian government to fully incorporate tourism as an independent discipline. However, this has not impacted negatively on the growth and development of the sector since it can be seen that a lot of young Indonesians are greatly interested in taking up courses in this particular sector. The government is concerned that tourism is seen as a potential forex earner though there have been concerns that this sector cannot just develop on its own without government intervention. There has been debate that tourism education should be combined with another established discipline such as geography or economics since this will significantly help the graduates to gain the much needed knowledge in this field. The other issue is that tourism education development in Indonesia has been slow like other developing countries and this can be attributed to the government’s stance towards the development of this sector. Basic approaches to tourism education and training Theuns and Rasheed (1983) suggest that both academic and professional type programs are essential in developing the curriculum in this area of study. There are many benefits that are likely to be achieved from adopting this double edged approach to developing tourism especially in Indonesia. Professional approach is advantageous in that it encompasses a variety of disciplines which equips the graduates with the much needed knowledge and skills to deal with different facets of the tourism sector. However, studies have shown that models of tourism education applied in developed countries cannot be applied to developing countries including Indonesia. There are many reasons for this anomaly. Firstly, lack of competent educators in this sector hampers the implementation of the full system that incorporates both academic and professional aspects of the sector. In actual fact, vocational training at lower levels is a basic approach that can stimulate growth and development of the education sector. The people involved quickly grasp the required skills and knowledge through the hands on approach they use in undertaking various tasks in their workplaces. Vocational and training approach in tourism has been found to be effective in India, Africa and other parts of the developing world. This approach helps to fulfil the local needs while at the same time providing quality services to the tourists. Essentially, the above mentioned approach to tourism and development is ideal especially in the context of developing countries like Indonesia in that it actually empowers the community members to be masters of their destiny. Through a hands approach to education and training, it can be noted that the people involved would quickly understand what is expected of them. It becomes easy for them to use the knowledge they have about their local areas as well as to utilise the knowledge they would have acquired from their studies. Their skills and competencies are also developed quickly when this approach is used. Strengths and weaknesses of Indonesia’s tourism education The major notable strength is that about 90 % of tourism education in Indonesia is in the hospitality section (Tourism Higher Education Directory, 1999/2000). The major advantage is that most programs offered are none degree and the trainees in this sector occupy lower and middle positions within this sector. The people occupying these positions are content such that there are fewer chances of a gap being created as other people move in search of greener pastures. The other advantage is that this sector offers some form of resistance in the event that unprecedented changes take place in the hospitality sector. The majority of the programs in this sector have therefore gained industry support mainly because they are oriented towards the field of hospitality. The students also gain practical experience while learning since they are attached to different organizations for industrial learning. This is a very effective way of developing competent employees in a particular discipline. The other strength is that the Indonesian government has recognised the tourism programs that are offered in this country. The government has also established a board that is responsible for accrediting and verifying the programs that are offered in the tourism education sector. This strategy has been implemented in order to ensure quality in education especially in this sector that is viewed as a strong foreign currency earner. This helps boost confidence in the tourism sector since efforts are made in order to ensure that quality is maintained in this sector. However, the major weakness in this sector is that there is no coordination between the government and private sector. These sectors are related but surprisingly, there is no proper collaboration between them. There is lack of agreement among the educators about what should be taught to the students in the tourism sector. This is a major weakness because it is difficult to develop a curriculum that is oriented towards development of the tourism education sector. As noted, this is a very lucrative industry where there is need for concerted efforts to develop it further. However, this can only be achieved through proper education of which there are problems related to designing of the curriculum. Another problem is that education is strongly oriented towards the hospitality industry and there is lack of commitment on behalf of the Indonesian government to review the curriculum so that tourism education can be recognised as a fully fledged discipline. The level of tourism education in Indonesia is below the standard expectations as set by the World Tourism Organisation. This gap is a major weakness that ought to be addressed in order to improve the education system in this particular discipline. Aspects of content of the curriculum There are various aspects that ought to be taken into account hen developing tourism programs. As noted already, the tourism sector is comprised of various stakeholders which include the government, private sector, tourists, students, institutions of higher learning among others. These stakeholders either impact or are impacted by the operations of the tourism industry. As such, their views ought to be taken into consideration when developing programs that are meant for the tourism sector. Failure to incorporate the views of some of the stakeholders can lead to the creation of a gap in terms of quality of the programs offered by various institutions. When this gap is created, the quality of education is greatly compromised. Studies that have been carried in different countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the UK show that there is general consensus about what constitute standard tourism education. For instance, the Nightingale Study (1980) indicated that there is a body of knowledge which shows general relevance of the study to the tourism education sector. Programs may differ from place to place but there is a general trend that certain aspects that constitute the generally accepted body of knowledge in the tourism sector should be present. It can be seen that the tourism industry is more or less the same in different countries since it encompasses more or less the same activities. It is only the approach to managing this industry that may differ but a closer analysis of the whole sector shows that is based on more or less the same principles. The knowledge base in the sector is the same but the approach about how it is applied differs from place to place. The industry is one of the major stakeholders in the tourism industry. Apparently, all graduates will one day find themselves in the industry. Therefore, it is important to take into consideration their views in terms of what they think should be included in the curriculum for tourism education. The industry is the largest employer of the tourism graduates hence the reason why their views should be taken into account in terms of the content of the curriculum. Another important issue is related to the involvement of educators in the development of the tourism curriculum (Lakdin, 1999). These people play a pivotal role in the dispensation of important duties related to teaching the students in the tourism field. The educators have an idea of basic issues that should be covered in the curriculum hence the need to consult them when designing the curriculum. The curriculum should be standardised in order to give the subjects covered credibility. As noted, different aspects that constitute the tourism sector are similar in different places. It is only the approach that is different hence the need to standardise it so that it can be accepted in other areas apart from the home country. These issues ought to be taken into consideration in as far as tourism education in Indonesia is concerned. The other issue is that tourism has never been recognised as an emerging discipline in Indonesia which has also posed problems in the development of the curriculum. This has been cause by the fact that tourism has been regarded as a multidiscipline involving other components such as geography as well as economics. This significantly impacted on the development of the curriculum as well as its quality. Skills and attributes expected of tourism students Education in the tourism sector is not an end in itself in as far as developing the competencies of the students in this sector is concerned. It can be noted that the people involved in this particular sector should possess certain generic skills that can help them to improve their performance in this field. Communication, interpersonal, computer literacy as well as analytical skills among others are required for all tourism students. These skills are vital because they help the students to brainstorm certain situations to come up with solutions that can be implemented in order to solve them. These skills are also essential as a result of the fact that they help the students to think in a logical manner. Candidates who possess a variety of skills are problem solvers who can work independently of their supervisors. Industrial attachment Also known as cooperative education, industrial attachment is very important to tourism students as a result of the fact that they are given the opportunity to integrate their formal education with work experience. It can be noted that theoretical knowledge is transformed into practice during this important period of learning. The knowledge, skills and competencies of the students are improved as a result of the fact that they are exposed to the real life situation in the industry. It becomes easy for them to master different concepts in the field as a result of the fact that they have enough theoretical knowledge which is not very different from what they would discover on the real ground in the industry. As noted by Davies (1990), experiential learning is integration and alteration of thinking and doing. The student is given the opportunity to put into practice the theoretical knowledge he has. Essentially, this strategy helps to develop personal skills of the individual while at the same time enhancing professional development. These aspects are very important since they positively contribute in the development of the competencies of the student. Gunaman (1999) posits to the effect that Indonesia has been facing difficulties in implementing cooperative learning as a result of the fact that there have been few organizations willing to collaborate through providing places for industrial attachment to students. Similarly, in countries like Australia and Japan, it can be noted that cooperative learning is not part of the curriculum in terms of degree programs in tourism. They argue that the students will get the much needed experience when they successfully complete their programs that are specially designed to meet the requirements of the industry. The curriculum is also designed in such a way that it equips the students with knowledge that can be easily transformed into practice. Scope of tourism education Tourism education originally started in North America during the 1940s. During that period, it mainly focused on vocational training which was viewed as the basic component of the field. From then on, tourism has adopted a multidisciplinary approach where it has been offered in conjunction with other disciplines such as economics. A massive migration of teachers from other disciplines moving to the tourism sector has been witnessed in different countries. This has been the same in Indonesia where there has been a steady flow of educators migrating from other disciplines joining the emerging discipline of tourism. It can be noted that these people do not have formal training to teach in this particular field. This has also been one of the challenges encountered in tourism education where the educators themselves are not trained to teach in this field. Relationship between the tourism and education sectors The tourism industry in most cases is comprised of owners and managers who personally lack formal education in this field to run business expected by various studies. It can be seen that the concept of tourism education is farfetched to the owners of business in this sector who view education as a cost rather than investment. The operators of this business have their own perceptions about the industry which guide their operations. On the other hand, it can be observed that the educators often find it challenging to identify the needs of the tourism sector. The operators of business are not particularly worried about formalised education since they have their own ways of running their businesses successfully. It is difficult to identify the training needs of the students when this kind of gap between the business operators and the educators exist. This has prompted the WTO to develop the TEDQUAL (Tourism, education and quality) methodology with the sole aim of improving quality and standardisation of education in different areas. The students on the other hand have their own expectations which should be taken into consideration when designing the curriculum. In order to cater for the needs of all stakeholders, it is imperative to involve them in the decision making process. Disciplinary approach to tourism The problem with classifying tourism as a discipline on its own is that it is comprised of various disciplines itself. Jafarie & Ritchie (1981) state that tourism is a multi discipline field comprising of about 16 different disciplines which entails that it cannot stand independently. Various components that are studied in tourism are covered in other disciplines which entails that there is nothing new in tourism. In other words, this sector is comprised of different element drawn from other subject areas. As such, many scholars have disputed the authenticity of tourism being viewed as an independent discipline. Pearce (1993) rather suggest that tourism should be regarded as a specialism or a particular field of study. The main reason is that it is an emerging subject that lacks history like other disciplines that are grounded in various theoretical frameworks. It may not be feasible to consider an emerging field like tourism as a discipline since it is part of other already established disciplines such as geography and economics. Significance of tourism and hospitality studies Training and development is very important in the tourism field. There are varying trends in the education type of tourism in developing and developed countries. There are mainly three types of education in the tourism sector namely: professional type education, academic type education and vocational training. There is uncertainty about the type of education that can be adopted in a particular country like Indonesia. The type of education that can be adopted in a specific country is also determined by its level of development. In as far as tourism education is concerned, it can be seen that there is a gap that exists especially with regards to the type of education that can be adopted mainly depends on the nature of the industry and its development. The bulk of the studies about tourism education were carried in developed countries and very few were conducted in the developing world. This disparity is glaring given that these two worlds are different hence the same standards of education cannot be universally applied in all countries. The tourism industry in developing countries is still developing compared to the developed countries where it can be seen that the industry is at an advanced stage now. This entails that the same concepts may not be applicable to both worlds since they are different in many respects. The level of development in a specific country determines the standard education that can be implemented in that country. The other issue pertains to the availability of qualified teachers in the developed countries compared to the developing countries. As indicated, a lot of studies related to this study were carried in developed countries. One interesting study was carried in Nigeria by Ibada (1990) and it was about development of tourism in higher education. The study mainly relied on questionnaire method to gather data and it did not specify how current practices in tourism could be used to forecast tourism in the future in this particular country. In some instances, the methods used by the researchers to carry out their studies indicate that there were certain weaknesses. Overall, the studies gave insight into what steps can be taken in order to close the gaps identified. Conceptualising the existing gaps within the tourism education studies Quite a lot of studies related to this area of study were carried by different researchers. Most of these studies were oriented towards investigating various issues that affect the tourism education in different countries. There are three gaps identified in these studies: Very few studies focused on tourism education in developing countries. Indonesia being a developing country was also left out in these studies. Therefore, it is recommended that further research should be carried in Indonesia to establish its current and future development needs required to improve the tourism and hospitality sector. There has never been such study in Indonesia. The other gap that has been observed in various studies that have been carried related to this subject is that they were mainly based on content analysis. When investigating such complicated area, it is imperative to include the views of the stakeholders since they are directly involved in the field. This will help to bring about well informed insights based on people with practical knowledge about the operations of the tourism sector. It has also been observed that the views of the students especially from the developing countries have not been involved in many studies that were carried. It is therefore important to carry out a study that is specifically meant to investigate the views of the students with regards to their own opinions about tourism education. However, this current study involved four different stakeholders namely: educators, professionals, government officials and students. The present thesis utilised a multi method approach in order to avoid the mistakes that are commonly associated with a single method of collecting data. Though it might not be a true reflection of the actual situation obtaining in all developing countries, it gives insight into the measures that can be taken to improve the tourism education. The other important observation in the studies carried is that they utilised a multimethod approach. There are many advantages of this approach since it avoids certain errors that are associated with a single method of data collection. The sampling technique utilised is also important since it has a bearing on the quality of the results that are likely o be obtained in a study. Above all, previous studies in the same field are very important since they provide gaps that might need to be researched in the future. Conclusion The main problem related to research about tourism education in Indonesia is related to lack of qualified educators to teach this particular subject. It has also been observed that there are different factors that affect tourism in Indonesia. This is a developing country and it cannot be compared to other developed countries. The principles that can be applied to developed countries cannot be applied to developing countries. The main reason is that the tourism sectors in these two worlds are different by virtue of the level of development of each country. This also entails that the level of education the developed and developing world is different. In order to gain clear insight into the measures that can be taken in order to improve the tourism education in Indonesia, research primarily focused on this country should be carried. This will help the authorities and all the stakeholders involved to engage in meaningful dialogue so that they can come up with informed decisions that can be implemented in order to change the curriculum in tourism education in Indonesia. Read More