Competency-based education: a multi-variable study of tourism vocational high school graduates

ABSTRACT Recent studies have revealed that competency-based education (CBE) does not facilitate authentic learning or encourage students to develop a career in the tourism business. This study aimed to propose a conceptual model implementing CBE for career development and job satisfaction. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to 217 graduates of a tourism vocational high school in Jakarta. A quantitative method was applied. The results showed that this successfully explained the implementation of CBE and competency-based assessment (CBA) as a proposed model of job opportunities and career development for graduates of tourism schools. The research identified the improvement measures and preemptive actions taken by the principal and teachers of the school. At the initial stage, discipline, hard work, and career development through continual learning should be emphasized to prevent any negative effects when students undertake internships or seek job placement in the workplace. It was also revealed that CBE as a single variable should be combined with CBA and career development to gain job satisfaction. The limitation of this study is the duration of the research. It did not use a longitudinal time frame to measure the real career development from the end user point of view in a broader area of population. Although this study focuses on competency and learning theories, it does not consider the latest competencies and other theories such as talent development of human resources. For future studies could be based on focus-group discussions with experts using a longitudinal analysis to consider tourism growth dynamics over time, using talent development theory is also recommended.