Exploring the flexible learning preferences of tourism and hospitality management students

Abstract

Flexible learning is emerging as a new education paradigm for responding to the demographic, economic, political and technological changes confronting university educators in Australia. Tourism and hospitality management programs are not immune to the flexible learning revolution, and indeed some educators have already embraced this concept. The purpose of this study is to examine tourism students' perceptions of the attractiveness of various flexible learning opportunities at a regional Australian university. The findings suggest that students are enthusiastic about the prospect for more flexibility and have strong preferences for structured approaches that provide 'real life' experiences and allow them to interact with educators, peers and future employers. Students are not enthusiastic about flexible learning approaches which impinge on their ability to work while studying.