Relationships between High School Students’ Perception of Teacher Effectiveness, Attitudes towards Hospitality and Intent to Select Hospitality as a Career

The aspects of the learning environment have the potential to be an important influence in the career decision-making process of students. Teacher effectiveness was also a revealed as a component of student success. However, the connection between teachers’ effectiveness and student’s career development exhibited a gap in the literature. The idea that a teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom can have a direct impact on a students’ decision to choose a vocation, particularly hospitality, as a post secondary career path has not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this study was to explore possible relationships between student perception of teacher effectiveness and student attitudes toward hospitality as a career path. This study had three objectives. First, the study explored whether teachers attitude towards a career had an influence on their effectiveness in teaching. Second, the study explored if a student’s attitude towards the career area influenced their perception of the teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom. Third, the study looked at student’s intent to choose hospitality as a post secondary career choice. The participants for this study were teachers and students involved with the Distributive Education Clubs of America. Membership in the high school division of DECA is restricted to students with a career interest in hospitality, finance, sales, service, management and entrepreneurship. Analysis of the results indicated there is a significant relationship between the variables of teacher perception of effectiveness, student perception of teacher effectiveness, attitude towards hospitality as a career and intent to select hospitality as a career.