Learning styles of hospitality students: Nature or nurture?

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to answer the question "does the hospitality management major attract students of a particular learning style or does the major change students" learning styles?" The answer was "both." The Learning Style Inventory - Semantic Differential format was used to assess entering and graduating hospitality students' learning styles. Data were collected from 384 entering students and 116 graduating seniors at a hospitality program in a US university over a 7-year period. When students entered the program, 39% of them were "convergers". Of those who graduated, 55% of them were "convergers". Implications on curriculum design and instructional strategies were discussed.