May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss IDENTIFYING ROLES IN TOURISM EDUCATION: THE CASE OF THE EGYPTIAN AND BRITISH TOURISM FACULTIES Islam Elgammal Faculty of Tourism and Hotels Management, Suez Canal University, Egypt Email: i.elgammal@tourism.suez.edu.eg ABSTRACT Knowledgeable and skilled tourism labor is one of the outcomes of a good tourism educational system. Researchers indicated that the use of active-learning strategies provides an average rate of student attention of 75%. StudentCentered Learning (SCL) is the way by which students can be involved in learning activities through the lecture time which helps in constructing their understanding of the topic presented. In order to implement a SCL environment, attention must be given to different aspects of the learning process.The aim of this study is to foster an exchange of ideas between the lecturer and students, their role and responsibilities and explore its impact on achieving the module outcomes. A constructivist approach was adopted which focuses on how the mind organizes experience, the processes involved and how learning is subsequently constructed. Three groups of level-one Tourism students enrolled in Research Methods at Cardiff School of Management, UK was the focus of the study. Additionally, the activity has used three groups of Tourism students enrolled in Tourism and the Environment module in Suez Canal University, Egypt. The paper concludes that Egyptian students have higher expectations of the role of the lecturer than the British students, which affects the applicability of SCL in Egyptian educational environment. However, after identifying and negotiate roles with the lecturer, Egyptian students proof a noticeable advanced towards SCL. Consequently, the paper recommends that learning contracts proofs to have great effects on enhancing the students learning experience. Keywords: Students-Centered Learning (SCL), Teacher-Centered Learning (TCL), Learning contracts, Active learning, lecturer/student role. BACKGROUND students might not be actively engaged with the topic, they might not listen to the whole lecture, and their retention of concepts is minimal (Timberlake, 2007), also lectures has limited contribution to the enhancement of students' practical problem solving and critical thinking (Hannafin & Land, 1997). Yet, the aim is to increase the students’ involvement in the learning process (Astin, 1999) Lectures are considered a traditional way of teaching. Today, it is considered the preferred teaching method used by 89% of since professors (Timberlake, 2007). From the students' point of view, lectures are considered a non-threatening teaching style. In the same time, some lecturers see it as a comfortable teaching format; "Traditionally, the teacher was seen as the source and conveyor of knowledge... Teaching was seen as the transmitted knowledge from teacher to students, largely through the use of lectures (Sale, 1998 in Donohoe, 2007). There are a number of reasons for lecturers to prefer using lectures rather than other teaching techniques; lectures are easy to control, and an excellent method for organizing a course contents. However, this way of teaching has been criticized by a number of researcher (e.g. Hannafin and Land 1997); during the lecture, some According to Paulson (1999), the use of ActiveLearning strategies provides an average rate of student attention of 75%. Nanney (2004, p:1) defined Student-Centered Learning (SCL) as "a broad teaching approach that encompasses replacing lectures with active learning, integrating self-paced learning programs and/or cooperative group situations, ultimately holding the student responsible 1 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss choice of the type of the technology appropriate for the students’ culture and background. Pragmatic foundations are mainly related to the limitations, i.e. the fund needed, the availability of the hardware/software required, lecturer training..etc. The integration of these five foundations is crucial in the success of SCL. for his own advances in education". It can be accomplished via encouraging students to be active learners by being engaged with active–learning strategies (Rositsa & John, 2004). It discourages students to take notes quietly and being passive. SCL is the way by which students can be involved in learning activities through the lecture time which helps in constructing their understanding of the topic presented. While “not all students are naturally selfdirectly learners” (Anderson et al., 1998: 9), SCL help students to develop their skills through promote learning and increase the students' attention during the lectures and facilitate critical thinking and problem solving skills. In order to implement a SCL environment, attention must be given to different aspects of learning such as the goal of the student activity, the role of the lecturer, the role of student and assessment student interaction. Because learning is centered to students, lecturers should realize they are collaborators in learning. A successful SCL should be open, dynamic and promoting curiosity to learn. When students collaborate in solving problems, their understanding to themselves as well as the topics will be enhanced (Timberlake, 2007). In terms of assessment, one of the critical differences between SCL and Teacher-Centered Learning (TCL) is assessment. In SCL, students participate in the evaluation of their learning. Additionally, they can develop assessment methods which support learning. Motivation could be considered the secret word for the success of SCL. However, one of the reasons that some lecturers resist SCL is assessment; perhaps because they see it complicated and requires longer time than the time required in assessing students in TCL. There is a strong connection between SCL and the learning environment which based on five main foundations (Hannafin and Land, 1997); psychological, pedagogical, technological, cultural, and pragmatic. The psychological foundations of learning environments are based on how individuals learn and the way they construct their experience which based on their learning. Elements related to the teaching methods, problem-solving strategies and the activities involved in the learning process are related to the pedagogical foundation. The technologies required to facilitate the activities in both the psychological and the pedagogical foundations in order to achieve the aims of the learning process are the focus of the technological foundations. Cultural foundations are highly important as they affect the Table (1) highlights a comparison between instructional variables associated with TCL and SCL approaches to teaching and learning. It provides a useful guide to the creation or evaluation of SCL environments: Instructional Variable Learning Outcomes Goals and Objectives TCL -Discipline-specific verbal information. -Lower order thinking skills, e.g. recall, identify, define. -Memorisation of abstract and isolated facts, figures and formulas. -Teacher prescribes learning goals and objectives based on prior experiences, past practices, and state and/or locally mandated standards 2 SCL -Interdisciplinary information and knowledge. -Higher order thinking skills, e.g. problem-solving. -Information processing skills, e.g. access, organise, interpret, communicate information -Students works with teachers to select learning goals and objectives based on authentic problems and students' prior knowledge, interests and experience. May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss Instructional Strategy -Instructional strategy prescribed by teacher. -Group-paced, designed for 'average' student. -Information organised and presented primarily by teacher, e.g. lectures, with some supplemental reading assignments -Teacher works with students to determine learning strategy. -Self-paced, designed to meet needs of individual student. -Student given direct access to multiple sources of information, e.g. books, online databases, community members Assessment -Assessment used to sort students. -Paper and pencil exams used to assess students acquisition of information. -Teacher sets performance criteria for students. -Students left to find out what teacher wants. Lecturer role -Teacher organizes and presents information to groups of students. -Teachers act as gatekeeper of knowledge, controlling students' access to information. -Teacher directs learning. -Students expect teachers to teach them what's required to pass the test. -Passive recipients of information. -Reconstructs knowledge and information -Assessment is integral part of learning. -Performance based, used to assess students ability to apply knowledge. -Students work with teachers to define performance criteria. -Students develop self-assessment and peer assessment skills -Teacher provides multiple means of accessing information. -Teacher acts as facilitator, helps students access and process information. -Teacher facilitates learning -Students take responsibility for learning. -Active knowledge seekers. -Construct knowledge and meaning. Student role Learning Environment -Students sit in rows. -Information presented via lectures, books and films. Table 1: Instructional variables associated with TCL and SCL approaches Adapted from: (Hirumi, 2007) The above table shows that a fundamental part of the success of SCL is that students should be clear about their role in the university as well as the role of their lecturer. They should understand that they are responsible for their own learning and a lecturer only gives them the guidance and support when needed, and facilitate the learning environment, "I know I can’t teach anyone any thing, I can only provide the environment in which he can learn" (Roger, 1969). Universities such as RMIT reported in its learning skills unite that “Lecturers will only cover about 30%-50% of the information that you are expected to know on any specific topic” (RMIT University, 2013).Therefore, a learning contract is considered a fundamental aspect of the SCL. It gives the student a clear base about what the lecturer expects them to be -Students work at stations with access to multiple resources. -Students work individually at times but also need to collaborate in small groups and a clear idea about what they should expect from the lecturer. According to McAllister (1996) and Sampson et. al. (1996) learning contracts are agreements between a lecturer and a learner (or occasionally a group of learners). They normally include issues of assessment, and provide a useful mechanism for reassuring both parties about their role and what to expect from each others. It is based on the principle of the learners being active partners in the teachinglearning system, rather than passive recipients. However, Atherton (2003) indicated that “there may be considerable student resistance to learning contracts: they are not part of the rules of the educational game they are familiar with. The common cry is, "Just tell me what to do!"”. Nevertheless, if the contract taken seriously by the lecturer as well as the student, contracts will be a valuable way of recognizing the responsibility and focus attention on how much help the student can 3 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss the workplace environment. Students’ response rate was 100%. expect from the lecturer (Lemieux, 2001). Indeed, and according to learning contracts change the student from being merely reactive, to being proactive in SCL environment. The module is based on SCL and was delivered through a series of weekly seminars. Although there were no formal lectures in this module, the seminars were supported by a series of tasks and quizzes administered via e-learning in order to maximise the benefits from the module. On completion of the module, students were expected to achieve a number of outcomes such as understand the factors that influence learning strategies and understand the communication strategies that enable effective communication, oral and written, at University level. METHODOLOGY In this research, a constructivist approach was adopted. According to Donohoe (2007), a constructivist approach focuses on how the mind organizes experience, the processes involved and how learning is subsequently constructed. This approach has three different key assumptions; the first assumption is that learning is an act of individual construction, and reflects the individuality of the learner- his/her personal experience and learning style, and hence, students construct their experience on their learning. The second key assumption is concerning with the importance of active involvement, and problem-solving in enhancing the learning process. The last assumption is about how learning is a whole personal activity, facilitated by cooperative engagement, intrinsic motivation and a psychological climate of empowerment. The second case study was carried out on a three groups of a total of 270 tourism students enrolled in Tourism and the Environment Module in the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Suez Canal University Egypt. Students’ age ranged between 1820 years old and they were invited to participate in the study. The module is basically designed to provide an introduction to tourism and the different types of environments, i.e. natural, economic, social and cultural. The module is designed to raise awareness of the importance of the environment in forming the foundation of the tourism industry and particularly in Egypt. Student’ response rate were 90% (i.e. 243 out of 270 students contributed in the current study). In this current qualitative study (David and Sutton, 2004), two different case studies were used; the first was carried out in Cardiff School of Management, UK where three groups with a total of 70 tourism students were invited to participate in the study. Students’ age ranged between 18-21 years old and they were enrolled in Research Methods and Professional development module. The module is basically designed to provide an introduction to the skills necessary to succeed at university level. It further brings to students awareness of the value of skills gained at university which are transferable to Sample Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Total The module is based on SCL and was delivered through a series of weekly lectures with no formal seminars. The module was also supported by a series of tasks and quizzes administered via e-learning in order to maximize the benefits from the module. All the materials and sources of information were also available online. Cardiff School of Management, UK British Other nationalities 8 16 11 12 9 14 28 42 Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Egypt 101 98 71 270 Table 2: The random student sample used in the study Data and learning contracts collected in the two case studies were analyzed by identifying common roles which appears in most learning contracts and then look at how frequent these roles have appeared to be common among students. Data then was represented in two tables; each table is presenting the common lecturer/students roles and characteristics in order, from the students’ perspectives. Therefore, the constructivist approach along with exploring the two case studies of Research Methods 4 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss and Professional Development module in the UK and Tourism and the Environment Module in Egypt helped in constructing reality about students' learning and evaluate their engagement, motivation and also encourage personal as well as group activities, and thus facilitate the learning process, when identifying lecturer/student roles. CASE STUDY ONE: German and Saudi Arabia. A total of two tasks were required from the students; in the first seminar, the focus was on the students’ awareness and expectation of the lecturer/their role at the university level. Students were asked to be divided into small groups and write their expectation about both their role and the lecturer role. Additionally, they were asked to write about the most interesting methods of teaching they prefer to be taught by. The result of this process was called "a learning contract", a contract between the students and their lecturer. Students were asked to take their role seriously and to be responsible about what is written in their contract, on the other hand, they were promised that the lecturer will be committed to his role. The outcome of the expectation survey is presented in table (3): CARDIFF SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT Students, enrolled in Research Methods and Professional Development Module, were diverse groups; a mix between British students and International students, particularly from India, China, The role of lecturer Freq. % The role of student Freq. % Give clear instructions 62 88.6 Attend 65 92.9 Motivate the students 55 78.6 Accomplish tasks 57 81.4 Deliver key information 46 65.7 Hand in work on time 48 68.6 Make lectures interesting 40 57.1 Participate 45 64.3 Guide and assist 35 50 Read around the topic 39 55.7 Deliver quality presentations 32 45.8 Improve his/her skills 34 48.6 Characteristics of the lecturer Characteristics of the student Respectable 64 91.4 Punctual 57 81.4 Knowledgeable 43 61.4 Respectable 54 77.1 In control 41 58.6 Polite 49 70 Available to students 37 52.9 Reliable 38 54.3 Reliable and fair 34 48.6 Approachable 22 31.4 Table 3: The role and characteristics of lecturer/student in the university, Research method and Professional Development Module. his students and delivering quality presentations (45.8%). In terms on lecturer characteristics, 91.4% of students indicate that respect is the most important feature of a lecturer. Having knowledge (61.4) and ability to control the classroom (58.6%), particularly with big groups, were more important than him/her being available to students(52.9%) fair and reliable(58.6%). Table 3 shows that 78.6% of the students think that the main role of the lecturer is to give clear instructions related to tasks required, quizzes and exams. The results also show that motivating students and delivering quality information are more important than making lectures interesting. 50% of students indicate that lecturer should guide and assist 5 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss presentation tasks among group members. This task was undertaken in two sessions; in the first session, the basics of giving a presentation and the key tips of a successful presentation were highlighted. Students were divided into small groups and agreed on their plan for the next session in which they will be required present their topic in front of the class. The students were totally responsible about the quality information they will present. The interesting part was that they were asked to assess themselves and their colleagues. Each group was given the assessment criteria which mainly based on the presentation planning, the quality of information, using slides effectively, self-confidence of the presenter, eye contact with the audience and considering the time limit. The total mark of the presentation was five marks; therefore each group requested to assessed and give feedback to the group presenter by giving a mark out of five. In the second session, the students surprisingly prepared quality presentations and performance was generally good. After each presentation, students were given enough time to assess and reflect on their performance. Students were quite engaged in the session, enjoyed peer assessment and learned many techniques about presentation skills. There were a variety of interesting topics which encouraged them to be active, ask questions and provide feedback. At the end of the session, students agreed on the best presentation and gave it the full mark; moreover, students enthusiastically were discussing feedbacks with their colleagues from other backgrounds. The two sessions had much help in achieving the second aim of the module which isunderstanding the communication strategies that facilitate effective communication, oral and written. Students generally expressed their enjoyment of this module and they emphasized that being clear about their role and the lecturer role helped in moving forward and achieving their aims especially in their first year in the university. Additionally, this paper proofs that an expectation session has a great effect in breaking ice and enhance the relationship between a lecturer and their students. Therefore, an expectation survey is strongly recommended in the first session of teaching. Moreover, the presentations session had a great value in terms of the students’ understanding of presentation techniques. Their feedback showed that they enjoyed the session and learned from their mistakes. What made the session unforgettable was that they used peer assessment as well as selfassessment in identifying each presentation’s strength and weaknesses. Indeed, using the learning contract Table 2 also shows that students were aware of their role in the university but it became clearer in their minds when they were requested to identify it as discussed in the constructivist approach. 92.2% of students agreed that attendance is crucial for improving the skills related to the topics studied. They emphasized that commitments, participations and submitting course work on time are their own responsibilities. All students set their aims in relation to this module during the same session which helped in monitoring their achievements eventually. After identifying and discussing the role of the lecturer with students, particularly in relation to introducing topics, delivering quality information, facilitating students’ learning, guiding by using useful and updated sources of information and being available to students when much help is needed, it was agreed that the module is based on SCL and teaching what's required to pass the module is not one of the lecturer's responsibility. Moreover, students identified a number of teaching techniques by which they enjoy the learning experience; these techniques are seminars, online discussion boards, group tasks, online tasks and quizzes, videos, music and fieldwork trips. A learning contract was believed to help students to realize their role, and hence facilitate the learning process and achieve the learning outcomes of the module, however, identifying roles helped in achieving only the first learning outcome which focused on understanding the factors that influence learning strategies. In terms of the second learning outcome which based on understanding the communication strategies that enable effective communication, oral and written, at University level, it was difficult to engage students from different backgrounds. Students were only communicating with colleagues from similar background. Therefore, engaging the students and facilitate communication in the class were the focus of the second task; a group presentation was believed to be a good practice which helps in breaking distances among students from different background. Studies (i.e. Sander and Sander, 2005) show that students who undertake assessed presentations show an overall improvement in their self-confidence. Therefore, the main aim of this task was to enhance communication among students as well as achieve better students’ understanding of presentation skills and increase their self confidence. The task instructions were as follows: Divide the students into groups of 4; devise a 5 -10 minute presentation on a topic of their choice; devise the associated 6 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss which is normal (Anderson et al., 1998). Only 60% of students in the three groups expressed an interest in getting involved in the activity of writing roles. However, more students were encouraged to participate and hence contribution reached 90% (i.e 243 students). The following table provides summary of what the Egyptian students thinks about their role and the lecturer role at the university level: technique helped in improving students' key skills and understanding their special needs. CASE STUDY TWO: SUEZ CANAL UNIVERSITY Three groups of Tourism students at Suez Canal University were also asked to identify their roles and the lecturer roles at the university level. Initially, students were anxious to take responsibility and write The role of lecturer Motivate the students Freq. 211 % 86.8 The role of student Attend Freq. 239 % 98.4 Make lectures interesting; 210 86.4 Participate 188 77.4 Deliver quality presentations 195 80.2 157 64.6 Give clear instructions 188 77.3 Pay attention & Switch off mobiles Hand in work on time 110 45.3 Guide and assist 184 75.7 Accomplish tasks 109 44.9 Deliver key information 169 69.5 Improve his/her skills 95 39 Teach simply& Use technology 144 59.3 Read around the topic 52 21.4 Show students how to study 131 53.9 Ask questions 51 21 Ensure students understanding 115 47.3 Study before each lecture 34 14 Improve students’ self confidence 113 46.5 Take notes 34 14 Reward good students 98 40.3 Avoid side discussions 31 12.8 Encourage questions 79 32.5 Follow the lecturer rules 27 11.1 Talk about future job opportunities Provide helpful information for exams Allow late students to attend 57 23.5 Avoid cheating 25 10.2 55 22.6 52 21.4 Avoid criticizing students 41 16.9 Deliver short lectures 15 6.2 Give low educational materials 8 3.3 Plan for easy assessment 8 3.3 7 2.9 Talk about experience his/her past Characteristics of the lecturer Characteristics of the student 7 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss Approachable 210 86.4 Creative 177 72.8 Understandable 187 77 Respectable 152 62.6 Knowledgeable 174 71.6 Polite 150 61.7 Fair 149 61.3 Punctual 69 28.4 In control 141 58 Reliable 23 9.4 Available to students 78 32.1 Table 4: The characteristics and roles of lecturer/student in the university, Tourism and the Environment Module, Suez Canal University. expectations were high. Harden and Crosby (2000) argued that lecturer and teacher have different rules; while the teacher is an information provider and the center of the student learning, lecturer are tend to be a facilitator of the whole learning process. When students identified their own roles, it was surprising that 98.8% of them put “attendance” in the top of their list. Attendance has been a common problem in Suez Canal University as many students tend to show up in lectures and seminars only if the register is required to pass. Few students showed a tendency to take responsibility of their own learning and provided positive responses such as, “I know we should attend on time”, “It’ll be my mistake of I don’t hand work on time”, “We never used to get our mobile silent, but now we realize that it is a disruptive device and need to be switched off”. 72.8% of students also believed that they need to be creative and think about innovative ideas related to the topics taught. A discussion of roles between the lecturer and students helped in negotiating roles and foster understanding Overall responses were good; students were pleased to move towards achieving more positive objectives in relation to their learning process. Students mentioned that they never thought about their role before and the activity helped much in organizing their thoughts. Identifying roles helped them to realize the importance of their participation in the class. It also helped the lecturer to put roles for the future sessions such as, mobiles are switched off, no side talking and cheating. For the 46.5% students who believed that one of the lecturer roles is to improve students’ self-confidence; a group presentation was eventually planned to improve students’ skills. In the beginning, many students resisted the idea of group presentation claiming that “we don’t know each other’s”, “we have no idea how to use PowerPoint”, “we never The above table is shown a simple description of the roles of lecturer and students. It was noticed that Egyptian students has expected more from the lecturer which is an indication of locating the lecturer in the center of their learning. According to Harden and Crosby (2000), students are always facing challenges when realizing any change in their education system, particularly if the change is related to switching between a lecturer and a teacher. In this context, Egyptian students have used to get taught through a teacher rather than a lecturer or a facilitator. 86.8% of the students believed that the lecturer main role is to motivate the students and 86.4% thinks it’s all about making the lecture interesting. By looking down in the table, responses such as “deliver short lectures”, “provide easy materials” and “plan for easy assessment” have raised questions of why few students would believe that this is what the lecturer should do. Few students further indicated that as they used not to enjoy the learning experience, their aim has been only passing the university level and hence they thinks that lecturer should only teach what is required to pass the exams. Students also indicated that a lecturer needs to be approachable and friendly and 71.6% of them pointed out that he needs to have knowledge around the topic he teaches. Only 32.1% of the students believed that a lecturer has to be available to students through either being in the office during his/her office hours or through online communications (i.e emails, blogs and social networks). By asking students for reasons of providing a longer list of the lecturer role, a number of common responses were collected, such as, “we get used to being passive in previous years of education”, “we mostly attend to get the register done and learning time is just before exams”, “the teacher is responsible of our learning”. It was noticed that students used the word “teacher” rather than “lecturer” and hence their 8 May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1 ISSN 2307-227X International Journal of Research In Social Sciences © 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved www.ijsk.org/ijrss done a presentation before”, “we don’t know how to speak in front of the whole class”. All students were encouraged to take part in the presentation session and they were supported by a small session in which presentation skills were discussed. Students were divided in groups of four and they were required to prepare and present a topic of their choice related to the module. Presentation assessment was through lecturer formative assessment as well as peer assessment and self-assessment. Students’ performance in the presentation session was generally good; they enjoyed the experience of being responsible of what is presented. In addition, students had to develop better communication among each other’s, and particularly planning to spend time together learning outside the classroom (I.e. library) which was beneficial. Although only few presentations were good and organized, students indicated that they learned much and believed that their communication and presentation skills have improved dramatically. CONCLUSION Although it was assumed that identifying both students’ role and lecturer’s role is a good starting point in achieving the module outcomes, there were a number of challenges that needed to be overcome; such as engaging students from different background and facilitating communication among them. Planning for a group presentation had a great positive impact not only on enhancing communications among students, but also on improving their presentation skills. Moreover, integrating peer assessment into the presentation task was a fundamental part in engaging students and maximise their benefits from the session. The overall response of students of Cardiff School of Management in relation to identifying roles and using SCL was better than students in Suez Canal University. In addition, Students in Suez Canal University have shown high expectations from the lecturer and put him at the center of the learning and tried to resist putting themselves at the center of the learning process. Generally, the group presentation was proved to be helpful for all groups of students; it brought students from different background together in Cardiff School Management and improved students’ self-confidence and facilitated communications in Suez Canal University. Indeed, the use of learning contracts is strongly recommended because of their positive impact on enhancing the learning experience especially in SCL. While a learning contract helps students’ to realize their roles at university level and minimize their expectations from the lecturer, it also helps the lecturer in putting the students at the center of the learning process. Although challengeable, lecturers can use different teaching techniques in order to overcome certain problems, achieve the learning outcomes and hence help students to improve their skills. AND RECOMMENDATIONS This paper has focused on the roles and characteristics of the lecturer and students at university level. For the purpose of this research, two case studies were used to look at the various students’ attitude in identifying the lecturer students’ roles which facilitate SCL. Students at Cardiff School of Management expressed a rapid response in writing about the lecturer rule rather than their own role. However, they response in completing the contracts were high. It was obvious that they are aware of general roles which refer to their maturity in learning. As the groups were diverse; different students from different background, the second aim of this study was to bring them together to achieve better communication and hence effective SCL. 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