ABSTRACT
Hospitality programs have relatively heavier hands-on components, and many subjects (if not all) are conventionally taught face-to-face. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced teaching and learning activities onto online platforms, in theoretical and practical components. Considering that hospitality students are used to the uniformed and face-to-face interaction dominant environment, how are they coping with their online classes? The current study explores hospitality students' online learning experience, taking into consideration their personality differences, learning skill levels, and perceived difficulty of learning tasks. A questionnaire was designed and distributed among hospitality students in Macao and Mainland China. Data were collected online from mid-May to early August 2020 using the platform Sojump. Over 700 students from all over the country responded to the survey, and 643 valid responses were included in the data analysis by using multiple regression models. Results suggest that the perceived level of challenge poses a good level of influence over students' learning experience, and personality differences add complications. Theoretical development and managerial implications are discussed, and suggestions regarding online teaching for hospitality students are provided.
ABSTRACT
Hospitality programs have relatively heavier hands-on components, and many subjects (if not all) are conventionally taught face-to-face. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced teaching and learning activities onto online platforms, in theoretical and practical components. Considering that hospitality students are used to the uniformed and face-to-face interaction dominant environment, how are they coping with their online classes? The current study explores hospitality students’ online learning experience, taking into consideration their personality differences, learning skill levels, and perceived difficulty of learning tasks. A questionnaire was designed and distributed among hospitality students in Macao and Mainland China. Data were collected online from mid-May to early August 2020 using the platform Sojump. Over 700 students from all over the country responded to the survey, and 643 valid responses were included in the data analysis by using multiple regression models. Results suggest that the perceived level of challenge poses a good level of influence over students’ learning experience, and personality differences add complications. Theoretical development and managerial implications are discussed, and suggestions regarding online teaching for hospitality students are provided.
ABSTRACT
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, many countries are facing a dramatic situation in terms of the global economy and human social activities, including education. The shutdown of schools is affecting many students around the world, with face-to-face classes suspended. Many countries facing the disastrous situation imposed class suspension at an early stage of the coronavirus outbreak, and Asia was one of the earliest regions to implement live online learning. Despite previous research on online teaching and learning, students' readiness to participate in the real-time online learning implemented during the coronavirus outbreak is not yet well understood. This study explored several key factors in the research framework related to learning motivation, learning readiness and student's self-efficacy in participating in live online learning during the coronavirus outbreak, taking into account gender differences and differences among sub-degree (SD), undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students. Technology readiness was used instead of conventional online/internet self-efficacy to determine students' live online learning readiness. The hypothetical model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results revealed no statistically significant differences between males and females. On the other hand, the mean scores for PG students were higher than for UG and SD students based on the post hoc test. We argue that during the coronavirus outbreak, gender differences were reduced because students are forced to learn more initiatively. We also suggest that students studying at a higher education degree level may have higher expectations of their academic achievement and were significantly different in their online learning readiness. This study has important implications for educators in implementing live online learning, particularly for the design of teaching contexts for students from different educational levels. More virtual activities should be considered to enhance the motivation for students undertaking lower-level degrees, and encouragement of student-to-student interactions can be considered.