Keywords

Experiential learning, transferable skill, hospitality, internship, cooperative education, engagement, communication, emotional intelligence, professional qualities, ethics

Abstract

Presently, there is a national focus on the industry-benefitting skills developed through undergraduate education. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an experiential learning course on building three ability-based transferable skills: communication, emotional intelligence, and professional qualities. These skills have been determined to be important components to the skill set of graduates intending to enter any career, including one within the hospitality industry. Results from an examination of three related instruments led to conclusions that an experiential learning course positively impacts self-perceived skill development among the three aforementioned skills as well as perception of overall performance. In addition, it was determined that experiential learning courses benefitted interns irrespective of self-reported learning style preference and that such courses may aid in narrowing the perceived gap between intern and employer perceptions of intern skill levels and thereby prepare graduates with increasing success for societal productivity

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2012

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Cintron Delgado, Rosa

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Department

Educational and Human Sciences

Degree Program

Educational Leadership; Higher Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004568

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004568

Language

English

Release Date

December 2012

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education, Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Share

COinS