New dual degree a first for teachers

New dual degree a first for teachers

A new dual degree on offer at UQ Ipswich from 2002 will be Australia's first-known university qualification for high school teachers of hospitality and tourism.

The option pairs the Bachelor of Business Management with the Bachelor of Education, with majors in hospitality management or travel and tourism management.

Hospitality and tourism have been taught in senior schools since 1996 as part of the Queensland Government's Vocational Education Training (VET) initiative, according to Dr Donna Pendergast, but pre-service teacher training has been far from simple.

Dr Pendergast, a lecturer in the University of Queensland's School of Education, has convened the Hospitality Committee of the Queensland Board of Secondary School Studies since 1996.

"Hospitality and tourism VET teachers traditionally come from other disciplines with home economics teachers taking on hospitality, and business or geography teachers taking on tourism," Dr Pendergast said.

"As registered teachers they already meet one of the main criteria, but usually they've had to work other jobs in their own time and sometimes for no pay to satisfy the requirement for significant training and experience in either hospitality or tourism.

"So there's always been a pathway. Teacher training in hospitality or tourism is not new - but we've articulated it by creating a more direct path."

Dr Pendergast said the proposal had been recognised internationally as a leading initiative following presentation at a recent [July 2001] Asian-Pacific Tourism Association Conference in the Philippines.

Students of the new dual degree graduate with two degrees in four years and qualify for teacher registration in Queensland. They can teach business education, hospitality or tourism in secondary schools, and additional options include an honours year or postgraduate studies.

Dr Pendergast said UQ Ipswich would complement the pre-service training initiative by developing short, intensive in-service training programs for current teachers.

"We planned initially to offer a masters degree for this group but focus group research showed very clearly that the short course option is what teachers want," she said.

For more information, contact Dr Pendergast (telephone 07 3381 1531 or email d.pendergast@mailbox.uq.edu.au) or Moya Pennell at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2846, email m.pennell@mailbox.uq.edu.au).