Factors Motivating LPU-Laguna Students to Continue Tourism Education in the Age of Covid-19

Since January 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has severely affected many countries and industries. Despite studies on COVID-19 from different perspectives, research on tourism education during the pandemic are only few. This study aims to broaden the understanding towards tourism education and the motivating factors that drove the tourism students to continue education during this era of pandemic. The descriptive research design was utilized. 134 LPU Laguna tourism students using the stratified random sampling method were the respondents from the 305 population of 1st year to 3rd year. In the analysis of data, frequency distribution and ranking were used for the Psychographic Profile. Then weighted mean supported to interpret the students’ perception on factors influencing their motivation and their educational experience during the pandemic. Moreover, Spearman Rho was applied to correlate the factors motivating students and their educational experience and it was also employed to determine the variability between group means of students’ motivation and educational experience and is larger than the variability of the observations within the group’s psychographic profile. By aligning the results and the institutions’ ever-improving operations, delivering an increased quality plan on the students’ educational experience in a matrix form composed of key results area both the present and the future, the objective, strategies to be implemented for the key results area, and the persons involved where the plan is mainly for the Center of Excellence and Academic Proficiency Planning to be implemented in Lyceum of the Philippines University – Laguna. Furthermore, different dimensions of learning processes in online and blended environments occurring the intersection of social, teaching, and cognitive presences in continuing education can be concluded that continuing education leads to skills, academic performances, and even personal development despite the challenges in the age of COVID-19.

Keywords – Covid19, motivation, online learning, tourism education