Hospitality Faculty Member Perceptions on the Purpose of Faculty Development for Their Teaching

Abstract

This research note aims to explore hospitality faculty member perceptions on the purpose of faculty development while bringing increased awareness to the overall significance of educational development to the hospitality education discipline. The study examines the three dimensions of faculty development – faculty development, instructional development, and organizational development, in the context of data collected from a survey of hospitality management faculty members at one international hospitality management school in Switzerland. Analysis of the initial findings indicates that these faculty members view faculty development in the more traditional sense as a resource for supporting their teaching activities opposed to a strategic change agent within the institution. Areas for future research include expansion of the study to multiple institutions, the consideration of the needs of industry-centric and traditional academic faculty members, and shifting perspectives of stakeholders within the three dimensions of faculty development.