Values-based Internships: Combining TEFI Values, Career Internships, and Community Engagement

Abstract

There is strong support for building TEFI values into tourism education (e.g., Liburd & Edwards, 2010; Sheldon, Fesenmaier, & Tribe, 2009). Padurean and Maggi (2011) also note that "[TEFI] values do not represent only a theoretical framework but also a practical instrument that educators could use to improve the quality of their pedagogy" (p. 26). Barber (2011) introduces a model of how TEFI core values are being defined and inserted throughout an entire undergraduate academic program, including core, major, and elective courses, as well as the senior internship. However, when designing tourism programs, one must keep in mind the various key stakeholders involved in tourism education, particularly the academic institutions, the industry employers, and the students. They do not all prioritize the five TEFI values in the same way. This discrepancy in attitudes toward the role of values in tourism education is a problem that needs attention and is a problem that this paper seeks to remedy through the concept of values-based internships. LITERATURE REVIEW Concern One: Industry and Educator Inertia with Respect to Values Education Designing tourism education to meet the needs of all relevant stakeholders has been a long-held objective among tourism faculty (e.g., Cooper, 2002). However, there is evidence that the tourism industry and the university sector express largely incompatible opinions about the perceived weighted importance of the five TEFI value sets. Primarily, there is little evidence of industry demand for ethics or stewardship competencies in hiring decisions, while many educators want to see all TEFI values incorporated into student learning plans. 1. Partners must engage with a view to a longer-term arrangement. This means a serious commitment of time, energy, and patience is needed.

Community engagement and accounting education research

“…If lecturers wish to include community engagement in their modules, they must understand its scope before involving students (Gilbert, Held, Ellzey, Bailey & Young, 2015). The core values taught while obtaining a professional qualification can often be illustrated practically by including a community-based engagement in entire courses (Canziani, 2014).…”

“…Various disciplines recognise the need to be involved in communities and communitydriven practices (Gilbert et al, 2015), and also make students aware of this from an early stage. Value-based education can make students responsible global citizens (Canziani, 2014) -and volunteering while at university can even enhance their employability in future (Spalding, 2013). Various companies might have community initiatives, and students can also gain exposure to those initiatives through internships (Canziani, 2014).…”

“…Most of the students in a study by Maistry and Thakrar (2012) believed that preparation is important and that a module on community engagement could be beneficial. Giving the students a thorough briefing and induction before the start of the community engagement projects and initiatives can enhance students' learning and experience (Canziani, 2014). Students might also be sceptical about projects at first, and then surprise themselves with what they have learned and became aware of when they take part in community projects (Copeland et al, 2016).…”

Establishing academic leadership praxis in sustainable tourism: lessons from the past and bridges to the future

“…In recent years, numerous studies have sought to operationalise Sheldon and her collaborators work around TEFI and apply values ideals to tourism curriculum development (Barber, 2011;Canziani, 2014;Gretzel, Isacsson, Matarrita, & Wainio, 2011;Wilson & Small, 2013). More still have sought to employ TRINET (the Tourism Research Information Network) as a mechanism for engaging in debate or operationalizing their own research.…”