ABSTRACT
It is a well known fact that practice clarifies theory and any learning activity especially technical oriented must be backed by both theory and practice. It is therefore important for students in various technical disciplines to undergo industrial attachment for a better understanding of the tasks and practices performed by industry professionals, improve self-confidence and have the opportunity to apply classroom theories to practical issues in the actual business setting. This paper seeks to assess the challenges hospitality industrial attachment students face in selected institutions in Imo and Abia states of Nigeria. The study aimed at determining whether theory and practice in the hospitality curriculum relate. It also sought to know whether hospitality industrial attachment provide a meaningful learning experience to the students involved. This study was a descriptive research with the target population being all students who were doing industrial attachment programme. A sample of 255 was drawn from the target population using Taro Yemen formula. A questionnaire was used to obtain information to enable successful extraction of information from the intended sample. Data collected was analysed using simple percentage. Chi square tests were used to establish the significance of relationships between variables .The main challenges that were facing hospitality industrial attachment students included lack of adequate guidance and support to students during the industrial attachment, discrimination and engagement in petty work. The study concluded that hospitality industrial attachment students were facing challenges that compromised the quality of industrial attachments programme as a meaningful learning experience. In this connection the researcher recommends that industrial attachment should be planned and implemented as a genuine learning experience right from the start thereby giving students support to help meet their need. This could be done by allocating adequate funds to support the student and to enable the educational institution to maintain the vital link with the students and the industry. This calls for a closer working relationship between the educational institutions and the industry to ensure hospitality industrial attachment is a meaningful learning experience for the benefit of students involved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page
i
Approval page
ii
Certification
iii
Dedication
iv
Acknowledgement
v
Table of contents
vi
Lists of table ix
Abstract
x
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
1
1.2 Statement of the problem
4
1.3 Objectives of the study 5
1.4 Research Questions 6
1.5 Significance of the study
6
1.6 Scope of the study
7
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction 8
2.2 Conceptual framework
8
2.3 Theoretical framework
15
2.4 Definition of Industrial
Attachment 16
2.5 Types of Industrial Attachment
programme 14
2.6 Educational purpose Industrial
Attachment 18
2.7 Benefits of Industrial Attachment 19
2.8 Challenges faced Hospitality industrial
attachment 22
2.9 Conditions for effective
attachment
23
2.10 Summary of literature review
26
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
27
3.2 Research Design
27
3.3 Area of study
27
3.4 Population for the study 28
3.5 Sample
and Sampling Techniques 28
3.6 Instruments for data collection 30
3.7 Validation of the instrument
30
3.8 Reliability of the instrument 31
3.9 Data Collection Techniques
31
3.10 Data Analysis Technique
31
CHAPTER
FOUR
DATA
PESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction 32
4.2 Questionnaire Distribution and
Collection
32
4.3 Demographic characteristics of the
respondents 32
4.4 To determine the extent to which theory and
practice in the hospitality curriculum relate 34
4.5 To investigate the challenges
experienced by students during industrial attachment 35
4.6 Whether hospitality industrial attachment provides
a meaningful learning experience to the students involved
44
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
50
5.2 Summary and implications of the major
findings
50
5.3 Conclusion
52
5.4 Recommendations
52
REFERENCES
APPENDICE
LIST OF
TABLES
Table
4.2.1: Number of respondents
32
Table 4.3 Demographic characteristics of the
respondents 32
Table 4.4.1 Usefulness of the skills taught at
learning institution 34
Table 4.5.1 How the attachment place of assignment was
sought 35
Table 4.5.2 Challenges experience by those who had
sought for the attachment places 36
Table 4.5.3 Negative experiences students encountered
during attachment
37
Table
4.5.4 A cross tabulation between
gender of the student and whether the student had
any negative experiences
in any of the areas they were attached 39
Table
4.5.5 Duration of the industrial
attachment
40
Table
4.5.6 Number of times students were visited 40
Table
4.5.7 Students’ difficulties in compiling report
41
Table
4.5.8 Other problems encountered by students during
attachment
42
Table
4.5.8 Students’ summary of nature of work done
during industrial attachment
44
Table
4.6.1 Extent to which students
achieved objectives of the industrial attachment 45
Table
4.6.2 Students’ summary of the attachment experience
46
Table
4.6.3 A Cross tabulation between
gender and the students’ summary of the
industrial attachment experience 48
Table
4.6.4 Another Cross tabulation between
star rating of the hotel where the students
were
attached and their summary of the industrial attachment experience 48
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study
Society poses many different training problems.
In order to solve these training problems efficiently, the study of training
and delineation of its subject matter need to be encouraged. Despite some
notable contributions, further progress is necessary in developing the study of
training and articulating the evidence on which training principles is based.
This is increasingly necessary as both politicians and industrialists are
becoming more aware of the importance of good training practice in a rapidly
changing technological society (Patrick, 1992). A wide range of terminology is
used to describe the phenomenon of work experience as part of formal education.
This terminology includes „placement‟, „internship‟, „industrial attachment‟
and „industrial training‟ among others. For purposes of this study, the term
industrial attachment has been adopted. In general terms, an industrial
attachment is viewed as a short-term practical work experience in which
students receive training and gain experience in a specific field or career
area of their interest. For their contributions, students may or may not earn
money depending upon the specific situation. The industrial attachment
experience enables students to apply classroom theory within the actual world
of work thus bridging the gap between theory and practice (Zopiatis, 2007), Damonte
and Vaden (1987) traced the origins of hospitality experiential learning
to Stalter (1863-1928), the father of the American Hotel, who emphasized the
need for hospitality students to experience the demands of management in the
real world, via a “hands-on” learning experience. According to Thiel and
Hartley (1997), the University of Cincinnati's Cooperative Education Program
developed the first college-endorsed industrial attachment program in the USA
in 1906. The program was developed based on the premise that college students
pursuing a professional program of studies needed to find a way to finance
their education. The first framework of managing the practical experience
element was adapted from the field of education where a major requirement of
the teaching certification is practice. A study by Petrillose and Montgomery
(1998), outlines the value and variety of the benefits enjoyed by those students
participating in industrial attachment, including a better understanding and
knowledge of the tasks and practices performed by industry professionals,
improved self-confidence, enhanced employment and professional growth
opportunities, the ability to network within the industry by creating personal
contacts, exposure to management activities, and the development of skills
relevant to their particular career
choice. Furthermore, industrial attachment provide an opportunity for students
to apply classroom theories to practical issues in the actual business setting,
and most importantly to evaluate whether their career choice is compatible with
their interests and personality. Nevertheless, the provision of any
experiential learning activity, such as hospitality industrial attachment, does
not necessarily provide a meaningful learning experience (Zopiatis, 2007a).
Experiential learning is defined as learning that occurs when changes in
judgment, feelings, knowledge or skills results, for a particular person, from
living through an event. It cannot be assumed, however, that experience and
learning are axiomatic. The content of the learning and the amount which one
learns is a function, not only of the particular type of placement that one
participates in, but also of the personal learning style of the participant
(Goldsmith, 1997). According to Garavan and Murphy (2001), there is a
considerable body of evidence to suggest that the organizational socialization
process experienced by the student, the types of expectations they have prior
to entry and the supports, surprises and shocks which students encounter over
the duration of the work experience, will significantly influence the overall
quality of the industrial attachment program. Organizational socialization can
be defined as the process by which newcomers come to understand and appreciate
the values, abilities, expected behavior
and social knowledge essential for assuming an organizational role and for
participating as an organizational member.
In Nigeria, the Directorate of Industrial Training (D.I.T.) in the
ministry of labour deals with industrial attachments. D.I.T. was instituted in
1979 under the Industrial Training Act. Its main purpose is to retrain already
working staff in the industries so as to improve their productivity. It also has
an apprentice scheme where companies bring potential employees to D.I.T. to be
trained before they are employed. This was a response by the government to a
cry from employers that training institutions were producing „halfbaked‟
graduates who could not be absorbed directly into the industry. The employers
acknowledged that this was due to lack of adequate and up-to-date training
equipment in the institutions. The government therefore pooled equipment
together at the D.I.T. for purposes of training (Directorate of Industrial
Training, 2007). The latest development at the D.I.T. is the industrial
attachment scheme for students. This was as a result of a symposium on
enhancement of linkage between Training Institutions and Industry (1999) at Presidential
Hotel, Abuja, which recommended the establishment of the National Industrial
Attachment Coordinating Committee, to promote and sustain linkages between
industry and institutions, specifically through industrial attachment
(Industrial Training Magazine, 2007). In the industrial attachment scheme,
D.I.T. in collaboration with the training institutions and the industry, places
students in the industry. Educational institutions are responsible for
overseeing student by conducting on-site visits to the industries and through
consultations with their on-the-job supervisors. As a major requirement,
students are responsible for maintaining an up-to-date diary and for compiling
a report, which partially describes the role and contribution made by them
during their industrial attachment practice (Industrial Training Magazine,
2007). In the year 2002, through a legal notice No.68, the Catering and Tourism
Development Levy Trustees (CTDLT) was added the mandate to develop standards in
the training for the hospitality and tourism industry, following the
mushrooming of tertiary institutions training personnel for the industry. CTDLT
also requires institutions involved in hospitality industrial attachment to
submit a copy of the objectives of the attachment as well as the remarks from
the industry after the attachment. However, due to the diversity of courses
offered in these institutions, it has been difficult to develop standard
syllabi for the courses. Also, very few institutions cooperate in this matter
making it difficult to streamline hospitality industrial attachment in the
country. All these new developments are in line with the chapter entitled
„Education and Training‟ in the Vision 2030 which says that countries will
provide globally oriented competitive education, training and research
development which will be attained through strengthening partnerships with the
private sector. To make this possible in the hospitality sector, the challenges
facing hospitality industrial attachment need to be investigated and dealt with.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
Hospitality industrial attachment has become
an integral component of all hospitality programs offered in Nigeria. Despite the institutions
involved agreeing in principle to incorporate industrial
attachment components in their hospitality curricula, differences as to
the content, structure, and administration of the industrial attachment experience
do exist, yet students from these institutions are attached in the same hotels.
The major role of D.I.T. in the industrial attachment
for student’s scheme is to streamline and oversee industrial attachment for
students following concerns from the industry that students are „damped‟ at the
industries as the industry is seldom informed of what to do with the students.
The students also complain of being „exploited‟ by the industry who view them
as „cheap labour‟. Other issues of concern are the nature of work given to the
students, their supervision during the attachment, and length of the attachment
period as well as the timing of the industrial attachment (Directorate of
Industrial Training, 2007). This implies that industrial attachment and as such
hospitality industrial attachment as conducted in Nigeria is facing challenges
that range from getting the „right‟ hotels to the mode of evaluating the
experience. These challenges face by the students may compromise industrial
attachment as a meaningful learning experience. Studies done have showed that
the provision of experiential learning activities such as hospitality
industrial attachment do not necessarily provide a meaningful learning
experience due to various challenges that significantly affect the overall
quality of the industrial attachment programme. Coupled by the fact that no
known study has been done in this country on hospitality industrial attachment,
it was important to undertake this study in order to investigate these
challenges within the distinct environment of the hospitality industry in
Nigeria with a view to making hospitality industrial attachment a meaningful learning
experience for the students.
1.3 Objectives
of the study
The general
objective of this study was to assess the challenges hospitality students face
during industrial attachment. Specifically, the study will:
i)
Determine the extent to which theory and practice
in the hospitality curriculum relate.
ii)
Investigate the challenges experienced by
students during their industrial attachment.
iii)
Find out whether hospitality industrial
attachment provides a meaningful learning experience to the students involved.
1.4 Research Questions
The research aimed to provide answers to the
following questions:
i)
How relevant to the industry are the theories and
practice in the hospitality curriculum relate?
ii)
What are the challenges experienced by students
during their industrial attachment?
iii)
Does hospitality industrial attachment provide a
meaningful learning experience to the students involved?
1.5 Significance
of the study
Industrial attachment is an integral component
of the hospitality programs offered in many institutions in Nigeria. The
findings of this study will therefore expect to be of great use to the
following people:
i. Industrial
attachment students: This study would be beneficial to the students because
their institutions (both educational institutions and hotels) would now
consider their welfare important during industrial attachment by giving
financial support.
ii. Educational institutions: This would help
educational institutions incorporating industrial attachment into their
hospitality programme to increase contact and cooperation with the industry.
This would call for a strong working relationship between hospitality students,
the industry and the institutions offering hospitality programs.
iii. Curriculum planners: It will helps
curriculum planners and policy makers by giving them a picture of the
challenges facing hospitality industrial attachment and would also assist them
in developing a new and innovative approach to hospitality industrial
attachment.
Iv. Further researcher: Apart from
adding to the world of knowledge in industrial attachment, this study would
also act as a provocation and a springboard from which other researchers can
carry out further research in the field of industrial attachment.
1.6
Scope of the study
This study was limited to four institutions in Imo and Abia States
of Nigeria. The selected institutions were Michael Okpara University of
Agriculture Umudike, Abia State Polytechnic, Imo State University and Federal Polytechnic
Nekede. These
institutions are in southeast of Nigeria. The four institutions were selected
because they have industrial attachment programme as a mandatory requirement
for the award of degree of their hospitality courses, recognized, established
and have been in operation for long compared to the recently mushrooming ones.
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