<strong>A Comparative study: First-year Hospitality Management students’ and lecturers’ expectations at higher education institutions in the Western Cape, South Africa</strong>

<strong>2017FBREC504: Ethical Clearance number</strong> <br> Students entering higher education institutions (HEIs) inevitably hold certain expectations, and identifying these expectations is essential to understanding the students’ thoughts about and attitudes toward higher education. Unmet expectations are among the reasons why first-year students drop out of university. As representatives of their institutions, lecturers also have expectations of their students, and these set the standard for student academic success (Martin, 2010:1-2). It is a complaint among lecturers that most of their first-year students do not prepare for nor participate in class activities and that they consequently do not succeed in the first six months after registration (Rausch &amp; Hamilton, 2006:317). This study presents the expectations of first-year students and lecturers at HEIs offering hospitality management (HM) programs in Cape Town. The study further compares the findings from public and private institutions as well as students’ and lecturers’ expectations. There is limited research on the subject in South Africa, and this study is unusual in that it focuses on both first-year students and lecturers. The participants are drawn from three HEIs – one public and two private – and the results are compared. A longitudinal research design and a mixed methods approach were used for the study following the post-positivism paradigm. Students and lecturers participated in the study. Convenience sampling was used to collect data from the first-year students and lecturers who consented to participate in the study. Three structured questionnaires with closed-ended questions and Likert-type items scored on a 4-point scale were handed out on three separate occasions (before classes started, after the first term and after the second term) to 120 students. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic lecturers from both institutions. Questionnaire information was captured and analysed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used to interpret the data via percentages in data Tables and reliability results. Interview responses were captured and analysed by the researcher herself using Microsoft Excel and Word. The data were coded, and emerging themes were identified. The results of the main findings revealed that students expect feedback from their lecturers (99.1%). They also anticipate readily available access to lecturers (91.6%), attending all the lectures (96.7%), having a group of close friends on campus (85%), enjoying lecturer support (90.8%), institutional support (100%), family support (98.3%), and spending 2 hours per day on studying after class (38.7%). The following main findings identified what lecturers expect from their first-year students in the form of themes; independence and hospitality background knowledge, study guide and communicating, feedback duration, motivational communication and assistance, lecturer availability and accessibility, missing class influences success, recommended study hours and class preparation, language barrier and different student backgrounds, time and workload management, pros and cons of group work. According to the lecturers, first-year students need to be more independent and have some general background knowledge about the HM industry when they enter a higher education institution (HEI). Lecturers expect the student to make an appointment before meeting privately with them to discuss work or just have a general conversation. Lecturers expect the students to attend all classes, as missing a class can snowball into dropping out. The lecturers also expect students to manage their time to be able to devote sufficient study time to studying on their own after class, anywhere between 30 minutes and 4 hours daily. The results show that students and lecturers have varying expectations, both academic and social. The students’ and lecturers’ expectations from both public and private higher education were compared by looking at their similarities and differences, thus identifying the gap between students’ expectations and lecturers’ expectations. The identified gap is that students’ expectations are more focused on orientation, feedback, knowing their results to be motivated to work harder, study skills, reminding of upcoming tests and assignments and lecturers to provide all study materials for their studies. Whereas the lecturers’ expectations focused on group work, attending class, independent study hours, making the appointment to see the lecturer, independence, communication, maturity, responsibility, student to be focused and motivated as well as having some background knowledge of the hospitality industry. The students from the private HEIs had three additional expectations: they wanted lecturers to teach them study skills, remind them of upcoming tests and assignments, and provide all the materials they required for their studies. The lecturers from the public HEI also expected their students to be mature and responsible, while the lecturers from the private HEIs mentioned that they wanted their students to be focused, motivated and have some background knowledge of the hospitality industry. These findings provide insight for academics within the HM field into the expectations of their first-year students and vice versa. This may help them to make certain adjustments to improve first-year students’ success rates and minimise drop-outs. <br> <br>**2017FBREC504：伦理审查批准编号** 进入高等教育机构（Higher Education Institutions，HEIs）的学生往往抱有特定预期，识别这些预期对于理解学生对高等教育的看法与态度至关重要。未被满足的预期是大一学生辍学的原因之一。 作为院校代表的讲师，同样对学生抱有预期，这些预期设定了学生学业成功的标准（Martin, 2010:1-2）。讲师群体普遍抱怨，多数大一学生既未做好课前准备，也未参与课堂活动，因此在注册后的前六个月难以取得学业进展（Rausch & Hamilton, 2006:317）。 本研究针对开普敦开设酒店管理（Hospitality Management，HM）专业的高等教育机构，调查了大一学生与讲师的预期，并进一步对比了公立与私立院校、学生与讲师双方的预期结果。南非境内针对该主题的研究较为匮乏，且本研究的独特之处在于同时覆盖大一学生与讲师两类群体。研究参与者来自三所高等教育机构——1所公立院校与2所私立院校，后续将对结果进行对比分析。 本研究采用后实证主义范式下的纵向研究设计与混合研究方法，招募学生与讲师参与研究。通过便利抽样法，选取同意参与研究的大一学生与讲师收集数据。研究分三次向120名学生发放三份封闭式结构化问卷，包含采用4分制计分的李克特式量表题项，发放时点分别为课前、第一学期末与第二学期末。此外，对来自两类院校的6名学术讲师开展半结构化访谈。问卷数据使用SPSS 24版本进行录入与分析，通过数据表格中的百分比结果与信度分析结果，采用描述性统计与推断性统计方法解读数据。研究者本人使用Microsoft Excel与Word对访谈资料进行录入与分析，对数据进行编码并提炼新兴主题。 主要研究结果显示，学生期待获得讲师的反馈（占比99.1%），同时期望能够便捷地联系到讲师（占比91.6%）、参与所有课堂授课（占比96.7%）、在校园内拥有亲密好友圈（占比85%）、获得讲师的支持（占比90.8%）、获得院校支持（占比100%）、获得家庭支持（占比98.3%），以及课后每日花费2小时用于学习（占比38.7%）。讲师对大一学生的预期可归纳为以下主题：独立性与酒店管理行业背景知识、学习指导与沟通、反馈时长、激励性沟通与帮扶、讲师的可获得性与可达性、缺课对学业的影响、建议学习时长与课前准备、语言障碍与学生背景差异、时间与工作量管理、小组作业的利弊。据讲师反馈，大一学生在入学时应具备更强的独立性，并掌握酒店管理行业的基础背景知识。讲师要求学生在私下会面讨论学业或进行一般性交流前，需提前预约。讲师期望学生能够出勤所有课程，因为缺课可能会累积最终导致辍学。讲师还希望学生能够合理规划时间，在课后每日投入足够的自主学习时长，时长区间为每日30分钟至4小时不等。研究结果表明，学生与讲师在学业与社交层面的预期均存在差异。 本研究通过对比公立与私立高等教育机构中师生双方的预期，分析二者的异同，从而识别出学生预期与讲师预期之间的差距。具体而言，学生的预期更侧重于入学引导、反馈、知晓学业成绩以获得学习动力、学习技巧、即将到来的考试与作业提醒，以及讲师需提供所有学习所需资料。而讲师的预期则聚焦于小组作业、出勤情况、自主学习时长、提前预约会面、独立性、沟通能力、成熟度与责任感、学生需保持专注与学习动力，以及具备酒店管理行业的基础背景知识。私立院校的学生额外抱有三项预期：希望讲师传授学习技巧、提醒即将到来的考试与作业、提供学习所需的全部资料。公立院校的讲师还期望学生能够成熟且有责任感，而私立院校的讲师则希望学生保持专注、具备学习动力并掌握酒店管理行业的基础背景知识。 本研究结果可为酒店管理领域的学者提供洞察，帮助其了解大一学生的预期，反之亦然。这将有助于院校做出相应调整，以提升大一学生的学业成功率，降低辍学率。