The Role of the Change Laboratory in Promoting Lecturers’ Engagement with Graduate Attributes

Abstract

<p>The change laboratory (CL) is a formative and qualitative intervention methodology. This study examines how participation in a CL can assist lecturers in dealing with difficulties in working with and integrating graduate attributes (GAs) into the subject content. The hospitality industry demands graduates with critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, and teamwork skills. However, integrating GAs into hospitality curricula remains challenging due to problematic institutional strategies, limited pedagogical support, and a lack of collaborative spaces for lecturer development. With such challenges, it would be difficult for higher education to equip hospitality graduates with the relevant attributes needed in the industry. This study thus investigates the use of the CL methodology as an intervention to enhance lecturer learning about GAs in six CL sessions. The CL provided a participatory framework where lecturers, the participants of the study, were involved in collective discussions to critically analyze their teaching practices, identify systemic challenges, and collaboratively develop solutions for implementing GAs. In this study, lecturers developed a new concept, the “hospitality being” (HB) to assist them in working through their challenges with GAs.</p>