Fostering self-reliance through intergrated tourism curriculum: a community participation approach
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Date
2018-02
Authors
Nhlapo, Mzamane
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The study sought to explore ways of fostering self-reliance through an integrated tourism curriculum in Lesotho, using community participation. Tourism as a vocational subject was introduced in Lesotho in 2011, following the introduction of an integrated curriculum in 2009, with a view to arming learners with practical, creative, productive and entrepreneurial skills, so that they can face life challenges of poverty and achieve self-reliance. The study found that teachers ignore the message and intentions of the 2009 integrated curriculum, and continue teaching tourism as an academic subject, and reject the demands and aspirations of the 2009 integrated curriculum. The challenge is to integrate tourism theory with practice, to strengthen the teaching and learning of tourism for examination, and for learners’ survival and self-reliance. Indeed the 2009 integrated curriculum has caused the concept of “education with production” to come back to the fore. Community cultural wealth theory was used to demonstrate the cultural wealth learners bring to the school environment, which help them in academic performance and to face life challenges. The study used participatory action research, conducted by seven co-researchers (two teachers and five community members), and a focus group of ten secondary school learners to generate data. Participatory action research is compatible with community cultural wealth because both are people-centred and community-based. Critical discourse analysis was used to analyse and interpret data. The study found that practicalising tourism to make crafts to sell to the tourists and other customers, with the assistance of community members, improved the learners’ understanding of tourism as a vocational subject, and improved the acquisition of practical, productive and entrepreneurial skills, which enabled the learners to use tourism to generate income and earn a living, alleviating poverty and ultimately achieving self-reliance.
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Keywords
Self-reliance, Integrated curriculum, Tourism, Community participation, Community cultural wealth, Participatory action research, Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--University of the Free State, 2018