The Influence of Extracurricular Foodservice Work Experience on Culinary Graduate Industry Experience

Abstract

This purpose of this article is to examine the influence of extracurricular foodservice work experience on the foodservice industry persistence of culinary graduates. The researcher used a survey methodology to obtain experiential data from culinary graduates. Post facto data from school records were used to enrich the survey data and provide an opportunity to observe the potential influence of extracurricular foodservice employment on in-school performance. A novel survey instrument was developed and validated through the use of expert reviewers, pilot testing, and internal consistency analysis. Participants in this study were graduates of a small, proprietary culinary school in a metropolitan area of Texas. Culinary graduates from the past five years and only graduates from one culinary program, the Associates of Applied Science in Culinary Arts (Culinary AAS), were used in the data analysis. The following hypotheses were addressed: H1: There is a statistically significant relationship between foodservice work experience obtained while attending culinary school and graduate career persistence in the foodservice industry. H0: There is not a statistically significant relationship between foodservice work experience obtained while attending culinary school and graduate career persistence in the foodservice industry. Moderate levels of extracurricular foodservice experience during school appeared to be a benefit to graduates. Industry persistence was higher for those graduates who worked prior to their in-school externship experience when compared to those who did not. Those students who had more robust extracurricular work experiences in the foodservice industry had higher industry persistence upon graduation. In-school performance for those students who worked in the foodservice industry while attending school was only slightly inferior to those who did not work prior to their externship experience. A decline in academic performance was observed when employment exceeded 30 hours per week. There was evidence of a synergistic effect between work and school that may alleviate the deleterious influence of extracurricular employment on academic performance. The results are of interest to culinary instructors and administrators who are seeking to strategically maximize graduate industry persistence and in-school academic performance. A limitation of this study was the reliance on survey data from former students. Examined in-school data metrics may also be influenced by other variables beyond the student's employment while attending school. Differences in school demographics, curricula, local foodservice employment opportunities, and the students themselves may influence the transferability of results to other settings. Generalization of the research method and results to other schools where students work, especially if the work is far removed from their career goals or degree focus, is not recommended.