Resumen de Insights into the Academic Motivation of Tourism and Hospitality Students in a Research Methods Course
John Rynne, Anna Kwek, Jenny Bui
Consistent growth in tourism and hospitality international students in Australian universities makes it imperative higher education institutions remain vigilant in understanding diverse student cohorts to ensure the best possible learning environments are provided. To this end, the present study sought to investigate academic motivation among first year undergraduate students in a tourism and hospitality program in Australia. Survey participants consisted of 634 domestic Australian and Asian international students. Using the Academic Motivation Scale, this study identified the influence of cultural differences, assessment types and student status on academic performance. The findings of this study revealed that Asian students demonstrated higher intrinsic motivation to learn, while domestic Australian students were more extrinsically motivated. Implications for tourism management, tourism industry and education are discussed.
