Business as Usual? Barriers to Education for Sustainability in the Tourism Curriculum

Abstract

There is little research on how 'sustainability' is embedded within tourism programs. This paper draws on findings from a study of Education for Sustainability (EfS) within the first year business/tourism curriculum at an Australian regional university. Using an interpretive methodology, interviews took place with 16 academics regarding the barriers in trying to incorporate sustainability. Three key themes were revealed: (1) a crowded curriculum; (2) staff and student resistance to sustainability, and (3) the realities of a complex, multi-campus institution. These impediments will be important to consider if we want to engender a more transformational approach to sustainability leadership in tourism education.

From Sustainability to the Anthropocene: Reflections on a Pedagogy of Tourism Research for Planetary Attachment

“…Sustainability has unsurprisingly become a common discourse in tourism education, where many programs at different levels feature courses devoted to sustainability and tourism, be it be from the perspective of the industry, the destination, community, cultural groups, planners or governmental officials. However, tourism scholars and educators have questioned the content of these courses, asking if their approach to sustainability is not just about endowing students with the skills to manage ineffective outcomes to protect the industry from criticism or failure (Belhassen & Caton, 2011;Boyle et al, 2015;Wilson, 2015;Wilson & von der Heidt, 2013).…”

“…However, the role of higher education programs in educating about sustainability is not always consistent among institutions and educators (Kearins & Springett, 2003;Sterling & Thomas, 2006). In its less critical sense, sustainable tourism education relates to the management of ineffective outcomes in order to protect the industry from criticism or failure (Belhassen & Caton, 2011;Boyle et al, 2015;Wilson, 2015;Wilson & von der Heidt, 2013). After all, critiques in all sorts of fields have accused the concept of sustainable development of promoting growth and technical solutions in light of sustained environmental degradation and climate change (Lélé, 1991;Redclift, 2005).…”

Transformative Education and Sustainable Tourism: The Influence of a Lecturer’s Worldview

“…Within the field of tourism, while many advocate a critical research agenda (Ateljevic, Harris, Wilson, & Collins, 2005), others question whether the critical turn has extended to tourism education (Wilson & von der Heidt, 2013). A review of Australian tourism university programs found a paucity of holistic sustainability-related concepts and skills embedded in the curriculum (Boyle, Wilson, & Dimmock, 2015).…”

“…Further, many tourism programs are located in a business school/faculty and adopt a vocational focus driven by a highly competitive consumer-oriented market (Dredge et al, 2012). Advancement of sustainability in university tourism curricula appears to be thwarted by a number of challenges, such as lack of curriculum space or overcrowding, lack of institutional support for a sustainable curriculum, and staff and student resistance (Wilson & von der Heidt, 2013).…”

How Academics in Undergraduate Business Programs at an Australian University View Sustainability

“…This paper provides findings from the study with respect to academics' conceptualisation of sustainability and its importance to curriculum. Findings related to barriers and challenges of teaching sustainability in the BBus curriculum have been published elsewhere (Wilson & von der Heidt, 2013), as will be those relating to the operationalisation of EfS in curriculum. Overall, through its multi-subject, multi-method design, this study adds to an understanding of the broad range of issues related to integrating EafS in higher education curriculum.…”