REASONS OF INSUFFICIENT READINESS OF STUDENTS ​​​​​​​STUDYING AT THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN THE DIRECTION OF “TOURISM” TO REALIZE THE SKILLS OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

ABSTRACT

This article aims to reveal the primary reasons for the unpreparedness of undergraduate students majoring in ‘Tourism’ to apply their professional skills. It presents the results of a student survey, identifies the central issues in the training process for future tourism specialists, and suggests solutions to address these challenges.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Настоящая статья призвана раскрыть основные причины неготовности студентов бакалавриата, обучающихся по направлению «Туризм», к реализации своих профессиональных навыков. В работе представлены результаты опроса студентов, обозначенные центральные проблемы процесса обучения будущих специалистов туристической сферы, предложены пути решения наметившихся проблем.

Keywords: professional competencies, professional activities, bachelors in Tourism, educational problems, practice-oriented education.

Ключевые слова: профессиональные компетенции, профессиональная деятельность, бакалавры по направлению «Туризм», проблемы образования, практико-ориентированное обучение.

The main task of the higher education system is to comprehensively train specialists ready to perform their professional duties in the real labor market. There is no doubt that today higher education institutions are actively introducing practice-oriented training through students’ practical training (expanding contacts with real employers), revising curricula and focusing on the need to develop students’ professionally relevant qualities. Work in this area allows the management of higher education organizations to increase graduates’ readiness to perform their job duties independently after obtaining qualifications.

The purpose of this study is to identify the reasons for the insufficient readiness of students undergoing bachelor’s degree programs in ‘Tourism’ profile to implement their professional skills.

The objective of this study is to examine aspects of the formation of professional skills for undergraduate students toward ‘Tourism’. Subjects: reasons for students’ lack of readiness to implement their professional skills in the process of study in higher education.

The importance of professional socialization and adaptation of future specialists of the tourism sphere in the pre-diploma period is noted in the works of researchers [1; 2]. However, the organization of practice-oriented training, the search for fruitful sites provided by real employers for students’ practical training and the implementation of two-way communication between universities and representatives of enterprises [5, p. 402] remain problematic issues for universities teaching bachelors in the direction of “Tourism”. All these unresolved issues that arise in the training of future tourism specialists contribute to the insufficient formation of professional skills, among which are as follows:

• Analysis and forecasting skills;
• Information and communication skills;
• Project forecasting and support skills;
• Organizational and management skills [4, p. 127];
• Communication skills to implement professional activities (establishing contacts with tour operators, carriers, etc.) [3, p. 11].

We should agree with M. S. Oborin’s opinion that it is impossible to form a complete list of professional competences for students under the conditions of exclusive educational activity [4, p. 131]. Universities need to expand contacts with real employers, specialists in the field of tourism, and enterprises that have experience in providing tourism services to improve the quality of students’ training to fulfill their professional duties. Industrial practice becomes a universal tool of university practice when students have the opportunity to apply their professional skills. However, it is not always a guarantee of a proper degree of improvement in future specialists’ professional competence because it is practically the only way for students to feel themselves in the role of labor performers.

To identify student satisfaction with the learning process, as well as the quality of internship organization, we conducted a survey of students, which consisted of 8 questions. The respondents were 4th year students in the direction ‘Tourism’ of the Academy of Tourism. (35 people). They were asked to answer the following questions from the questionnaire created by us:

1. Do you recognize the close connection between theory and practice in the learning process?

2. Do you have sufficient opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge in practice? What opportunities does the university offer you?

3. Are you satisfied with the organization of the practical training? Did you experience any difficulties? What difficulties have you experienced?

4. What professional skills did you acquire during the internship?

5. What professional skills should a tourism specialist possess?

6. Do you know about the existence of the list of professional competences necessary for mastering by specialists in the tourism field?

7. Do you plan to continue your studies (mastering the Master’s program in the field of tourism) or start your professional path immediately after obtaining the qualification?

8. Evaluate your general impression of university training according to your profile (from 1 to 5). Provide recommendations for improvement.

The results of the analysis of respondents’ answers to the first and second question of the questionnaire developed by the author allowed us to state that in the practice of today’s universities, training specialists in the field of tourism, there is still a tendency to discrepancy between the theoretical knowledge base formed in the classroom and real working conditions, where it is necessary to apply this knowledge in practice (fig. 1).

Figure 1. Responses of the respondents to the first and second question of the questionnaire

 Among the opportunities to apply theoretical information to practical activities provided by the university, students overwhelmingly mentioned industrial practice (98% of respondents). Other options included business games in classes and extracurricular activities (excursions, master classes, meetings with tourism specialists). However, the low percentage of mentions of these forms of work demonstrates a clear lack of higher education attention to this aspect of education. However, it should be stated that, according to the students’ answers to the third question of the questionnaire, in general, they are satisfied with the organization of practical training (80% (28 people) of respondents noted a high level of practical training on the basis of the city enterprises providing tourist and recreational services). Among the difficulties experienced during internships, students noted the unpreparedness to work in a multi-tasking mode, lack of necessary skills to work in specialized software, lack of support from enterprise employees, shyness, and constraints in working with customers.

It should also be noted that students of the university in question are aware of the existence of professional standards of a specialist who undertakes his/her professional activity in the field of tourism and hospitality, but they have a vague idea of the list of professional skills necessary for the successful fulfillment of their tasks at the workplace. The students’ answers to the fourth, fifth, and sixth questions of the questionnaire demonstrate that the students mix professional skills themselves (analyzing the market of tourist services and monitoring the directions of the tourist area of the region, forecasting the development of the sphere in accordance with different conditions, etc.) and those that are commonly called “flexible skills” (supraprofessional competencies), as well as those that are included in the concept of functional literacy and personal characteristics of a specialist (moral qualities). The students noted the following professional skills: ability to use network resources; legal awareness in the aspects of realizing their professional tasks; mathematical skills; benevolence; tact; affability; and following the rules of communication culture.

Consequently, modern students require a clearer familiarization with the list of professional competencies, which is undoubtedly emphasized in the process of university training but not to a sufficient extent as seen below.

As the students’ answers to the seventh question of the questionnaire demonstrate, in general, they are aware of their readiness to conduct their own professional activity immediately after mastering the Bachelor’s programs. This indicates that sufficient attention should be paid to the formation of professional competences and underlying skills during university training for tourism specialists. 6 % (2 persons) of the respondents plan to continue their Master’s studies in their training profile.

The answers to the last question of the questionnaire demonstrate that students were satisfied with the process of studying at the university: 62.8 % of respondents (22 people) gave scores of 4 and 5 in total (fig. 2).

Figure 2. Responses of the respondents to the first and second question of the questionnaire

Among the recommendations to improve the quality of training in their profiles, students noted a greater variety in the organization of extracurricular activities aimed at improving professional skills, an expansion of disciplines of choice and optional courses related to aspects of the activities of a specialist in the tourism industry, and an expansion of the list of sites for industrial practice.

Thus, the list of reasons for insufficient student readiness in the direction ‘Tourism’ is formalized in the following table:

1. a low level of reference in the practice of teaching subjects with a clearly professionally oriented orientation to various active teaching methods and modern technologies that allow students to assume the role of performers in their professional duties;

2. insufficient support from experienced specialists during practical training of university students;

3. the non-involvement of students in extracurricular professionally oriented activities;

4. a narrow range of elective disciplines and optional courses that cover issues in the professional activities of specialists in the tourism sphere.

We agree with the opinions of the respondents and have drawn up a list of measures that contribute to leveling the problems of higher education in tourism. First, it is necessary to strengthen the emphasis of the practice-oriented component of educational activities through the use of modern educational technologies that promote immersion of students in the field of professional activity (case studies, problem-based learning, project-research activities, game technologies, information and communication technologies), technologies for the development of critical thinking, non-standard and creative thinking, active and interactive methods of organizing activities, as well as through the expansion of the educational process. Second, it is necessary to organize the creation of projects and research works that are thematically related to the tourism sphere, based on the practical experience of certain enterprises. Third, the program encourages students to participate in scientific meetings covering issues related to tourism services and maintenance. Fourth, to increase students’ awareness of the connection between theory and practice, it is necessary to expand the corpus of elective and optional courses. Fifth, to strengthen students’ minds regarding the list of professional competences necessary for successful implementation of their professional duties, it is necessary to introduce specialized courses or cycles of topics within the framework of professionally oriented disciplines to study relevant documentation regulating the activity of specialists in the tourism sphere. Sixth, to overcome the typical difficulties experienced by students during their internships, it is necessary to draw the attention of university management to the development of the institute of mentoring when students’ activities at enterprises are supervised by an experienced specialist in the organization.

Thus, only with a comprehensive approach to solving these problems of students’ unpreparedness to implement their professional skills can a higher school contribute to quality socialization and adaptation of a young specialist entering the real labor market as a full-fledged participant in labor relations.

References:

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