Identity images of undergraduate college majors: implications for hospitality and tourism education

ABSTRACT

A two-phase study explored the role of academic majors in identity development and affirmation among undergraduate collegestudents. Phase one of the study examined the existence of identity images for five academic majors (i.e., Hospitality Management;Recreation, Parks & Tourism Management; Journalism; Fashion Design; and Biology). Phase two measured students’ desire for these identity images. Results of the qualitative analysis inphase one suggested that undergraduate students associate unique sets of identity images with academic majors. ANOVA with posthoc analysis in phase two was used to analyze quantitative data collected from 272 surveys assessing the desirability of the identity images revealed in phase one. Results of phase two suggest that students enrolled in a particular major desire the identity image associated with their chosen major more than the images associated with other majors. Thus, it appears that academic majors symbolize discrete sets of identity images and an independent choice of an academic major may play a vital role in the identity development and affirmation process among undergraduate college students through association with desired identity images. Academic majors may be selected for their ability to affirm valued aspects of identities. Implications for Hospitality Management and Tourism educators are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity image
• identity affirmation
• academic major
• education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.