Page 96 - World Heritage and Tourism Innovation

Sibiya Thandeka Education and Heritage

RQ 1.2 Does the tourism curriculum require fur- each audit. Subsequently, in 1997, a new curriculum
ther reforms to encourage schools to play policy was launched, curriculum 2005, which was
a meaningful role in community develop- outcome-based. In 2002, this curriculum was recon-
ment? structed and approved into the Revised National Cur-
2. How can Tourism curriculum be put on the same riculum Statement (NCS) and implemented in 2004. It
level with other subjects? was reviewed in 2009 regarding the quality of learning
3. What impact does tourism education have on stu- and teachers. As a result, the 2009 findings of the NCS
dents’ understanding of community sustainability? were reviewed in 2011. Its subsequent amendment led
to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement
RQ 3.1 What knowledge and skills do students (CAPS), claims DoE (Department of Education 2009;
gain from the tourism curriculum re- National Education Policy Act 1996; 2009) and Pin-
garding sustainable practices? nock (2011).
RQ 3.2 What are the long-term impacts on stu-
dents’ attitudes and behaviour towards The Tourism Curriculum Concept
sustainability in their communities? Based on the evolution of the school curriculum in
South Africa, as documented by the CAPS Tourism
Research Aims and Objectives. Package published by the Umalusi, a Council for
a) Investigate the role of schools in forging partner- Quality Assurance in General and Further Education
ships and relationships with local communities to and Training, in collaboration with the Department
generate and preserve knowledge about local her- of Tourism in South Africa, the Tourism curriculum
itage sites. appears to be aligned with Curriculum levels and as-
b) Examine the benefits of teaching the tourism cur- sociated curriculum documentation (Thijs & Van den
riculum from a community sustainability perspec- Akker, 2009). This characteristic presents Tourism as
tive in South African’s rural and township schools. a key subject in the country’s various economic strate-
c) Investigate the long-term benefits for students re- gies. In 2009, the subject was therefore identified as a
garding community sustainability. priority economic sector as well as one of the growth
areas which are expected to contribute to the develop-
d) Investigate the role of teacher capacitation in up- ment of economic activities in rural areas by the In-
lifting the status of Tourism subject. dustrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP2), according to the
National Tourism Sector Strategy, (February 2011).
Literature Review Therefore, it is assumed that the tourism subject, as
This study contributes to the existing literature on early as the school phase, is recommended as part of
the role of the Tourism curriculum in fostering and the improvements that can potentially influence the
bolstering sustainable heritage in rural and township implementation of the curriculum both in and out-
communities. However, it is imperative to review the side the classroom.
literature that discusses the school curriculum devel-
opment and reform stages in South Africa from 1995 Heritage and Economy
to 2014 to present a rather comprehensive, coherent, According to Timothy and Boyd (2006) and Stod-
and logical argument. The curriculum amendments dart and Rogerson (2009), tourism is regarded and
were intended to direct education towards a quality described as a strategy in rural areas to market less
education, especially after most of the population had developed heritage asserts. One of the effective ways
been subjected to subjugation for about five decades. to achieve this, according to Snowball and Courteney
From 1995, after the democratic elections, national (2010), is documenting them. Although most of the
audits were conducted to assess the different curric- publicity is often done by tourism boards and munic-
ulums, and the results revealed significant gaps for ipalities, for example, on wine routes in the Western

92 | Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference