Adjustment and commitment in tourism higher education: A mixed-method examination of change over time
Abstract
Student adjustment to university life and commitment to higher education are critical for retention and academic success, yet little is known about how these constructs change across the first semester or how course-based interventions influence them in tourism education. This study examines changes in tourism students' adjustment and commitment following a compulsory first-semester "Adaptation to University Life" course, using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Study 1 followed 127 first-year students from gastronomy and culinary arts, tourism guidance, and recreation management programs at a Turkish state university. Adjustment (personal, social, academic) and commitment to higher education were measured at the beginning and end of the semester using validated scales, and within-cohort change was analyzed with the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. Study 2 explored the dynamics underlying the observed changes through semi-structured interviews with 20 students drawn from the same cohort, analyzed thematically. Quantitative findings indicated a significant decrease across all dimensions over the semester. Qualitative findings suggested that growing awareness of academic demands, professional realities of the tourism sector, and constraints of the peripheral campus prompted students to reassess their initial expectations. The study contributes longitudinal evidence on adjustment and commitment in tourism education and suggests that adaptation courses may function as awareness-raising mechanisms rather than immediate enhancers of adjustment, with implications for course design and student-support practice.