Fostering self-reliance through integrated Tourism Curriculum

The study sought to explore ways of fostering self-reliance through an integrated tourism curriculum in Lesotho, using community participation. Tourism as a vocational subject was introduced in Lesotho in 2011, following the introduction of an integrated curriculum in 2009, with a view to arming learners with practical, creative, productive and entrepreneurial skills, so that they can face life challenges of poverty and achieve self-reliance. The study found that teachers ignore the message and intentions of the 2009 integrated curriculum, and continue teaching tourism as an academic subject, and reject the demands and aspirations of the 2009 integrated curriculum. . The study found that practicalising tourism to make crafts to sell to the tourists and other customers, with the assistance of community members, improved the learners' understanding of tourism as a vocational subject, and improved the acquisition of practical, productive and entrepreneurial skills, which enabled thelearners to use tourism to generate income and earn a living, alleviating poverty and ultimately achieving self-reliance.