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As the Head of Department, Department of Tourism at Centurion Academy, I identified an innovative idea to transform my mentoring practice. The Advanced Diploma in Tourism Management is offered at two campuses – the main campus in Centurion and the campus situated in Klerksdorp. I was based on the main campus and served as a peer mentor for my mentee, who was based on the Klerksdorp campus. The concept of blended mentoring that focuses on face-to-face mentoring and e-mentoring was opted for, due to the distance between my mentee and me. The purpose of the mentoring was to facilitate my mentee’s professional development by adapting a whole brain® approach. My mentee, on the other hand, transformed her teaching practice by means of facilitating whole brain® learning in the Accounting module. We were both responsible for presenting the Accounting module – I was the examiner and followed a whole brain® approach (derived from previous study) and it was my mentee’s second year of lecturing Accounting. Adapting a whole brain® approach empowered us to transform our respective practices. Whole brain® learning focuses on the theoretical framework of the metaphorical Herrmann whole brain® model. The Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI®), which quantifies the degree of an individual’s preference for specific thinking modes, was used to assess my mentee, my mentee’s students who were enrolled for the Accounting module and my own thinking style preference. The data derived from the HBDI® served as baseline data for the study. An action research design was followed by both my mentee and me. We both followed our own action research spiral, which overlapped. My action research cycle commenced with a face-to-face mentoring session in Pretoria with my mentee. The study included two visits by me to the Klerksdorp campus. During these visits I observed learning opportunities presented by my mentee. Quantitative and qualitative data, a part from the HBDI®, was gathered during the study. Quantitative data included a feedback questionnaire that my mentee’s students had to complete after the completion of each Accounting theme and included the students’ marks. Qualitative data that was gathered included interviews with my mentee and her students, field notes from observations, audio-visual material from my mentee’s learning opportunities and personal documents. The findings indicate that a whole brain® approach to mentoring and a whole brain® approach to facilitating learning in a teaching practice contributed to my and my mentee’s professional development. Other additional aspects that can be incorporated in a mentoring and teaching practice to ensure lifelong learning and a continuous transformation of one’s practice were identified during the final reflection on the action research cycle that was recorded. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Humanities Education / unrestricted

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Students graduate from Boland College after obtaining the National Certificates N4 – N6 in Tourism. I have been working at Boland College Stellenbosch Campus as a tourism lecturer for 12 years and over the past few years I have found that students have been struggling to find employment in the tourism industry on completion of their studies. The national tourism curriculum offered at FET colleges was implemented in 1995 with the last renewal in 2001 for selected subjects. The tourism industry, however, is a vibrant, ever-changing industry which stands in direct contrast with a static, needs-insensitive and unchanging curriculum. The aim of this study was to establish in which respects the current national tourism curriculum corresponds, or does not correspond, with what the tourism industry in Stellenbosch requires from entry-level employees in terms of expected skills, knowledge and attitudes. Qualitative methods were used to generate data from employers representing the tourism industry in Stellenbosch, graduates and lecturers from Boland College. Research participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed by doing verbatim transcriptions of the interviews, using coding and an Excel spread sheet analysis. The results revealed specific areas where the current national tourism curriculum does not correspond with the expectations and needs that the tourism industry in Stellenbosch has from entry-level employees in terms of expected skills, knowledge and attitudes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Studente ontvang ‘n kwalifikasie in Toerisme nadat hulle die Nasionale Sertifikate N4 – N6 in Toerisme voltooi het. Ek werk die afgelope 12 jaar as toerismedosent by Boland Kollege Stellenbosch Kampus. Gedurende die afgelope paar jaar het ek gevind dat studente sukkel om werk te kry in die toerismebedryf nadat hulle hul studies voltooi het. Die nasionale toerisme-kurrikulum wat by VOO Kolleges aangebied word, is in 1995 geïmplementeer en die laaste keer in 2001 hernu en boonop slegs in sekere vakke. Die toerismebedryf is egter ‘n lewendige, vinnig-veranderende industrie in direkte teenstelling met die statiese, onveranderde kurrikulum wat oënskynlik nie sensitief genoeg is vir die behoeftes van die toerismebedryf nie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel in watter mate die huidige nasionale toerisme-kurrikulum ooreenstem, of nie ooreenstem nie, met wat die toerismebedryf in Stellenbosch verwag van intreevlak-werknemers in terme van verwagte vaardighede, kennis en houdings. Kwalitatiewe metodes is gebruik om data te genereer en onderhoude is gevoer met werkgewers wat die toerismebedryf in Stellenbosch verteenwoordig asook gegradueerdes en dosente van Boland Kollege. Daar is hoofsaaklik gebruik gemaak van semi-gestruktueerde onderhoude. Die data-analise het bestaan uit verbatim getranskribeerde onderhoude, die kodering daarvan asook ‘n genoteerde Excel-ontledingstaat. Die resultate van die studie dui op spesifieke aspekte van die nasionale toerisme kurrikulum wat nie ooreenstem met die verwagtinge en behoeftes wat die toerisme-industrie in Stellenbosch het van intreevlak werknemers in terme van vaardighede, kennis en houdings nie.