International Hospitality Management Students' Epistemological Beliefs and Conceptions of Teaching and Learning

The aim of this study is to investigate international hospitality management students' beliefs about knowledge and their conceptions of teaching and learning in a problem-based learning environment. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to investigate the relation between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching and learning. Results show structural relations between several dimensions of epistemological beliefs and constructivist and traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Congruency exists between the constructivist nature of the problem-based learning environment, the students'constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning, and the students' beliefs in hard work and in learning effort. Our findings indicate that hospitality management students'epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of teaching and learning are in alignment with the demands of problem-based hospitality education. Moreover, students from different cultural backgrounds may benefit from their learning experiences in a problem-based environment.