Academic Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Research
 

Academic Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Research 

Vol. 3(2), pp. 25-31. February, 2015.

ISSN: 2360-7874 

 DOI: 10.14662/ARJASR2014.038

Full Length Research

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of students at king Saud University toward agriculture programs and the field of agriculture in an effort to better identify, recruit, and retain students in the College of agriculture. The population of the study was 860 students from king Saud University .The retain were 200 from Sciences Colleges and 300 from Humanities Colleges. Questionnaire reviewed for content and face validity by a panel of experts from department of agricultural extension at the college of agriculture, King Saud University. A three-point Likert -type scale was used. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.89, which indicated the internal consistency of the scale. Generally, the attitudes of students from Sciences Colleges toward the field of agriculture were positive. The attitudes of students from Humanities Colleges toward the field of agriculture were somewhat negative. Nearly 71% of respondents from Science Colleges and 28% of respondents from Humanities Colleges indicated that Agriculture is a scientific area of study. Only 41% of the respondents from Science Colleges and 20% from Humanities Colleges indicated that more students should be encouraged to enroll in the College of food and Agricultural sciences. Sixty one percent of respondents from Sciences Colleges and 56 percent of respondents from humanities colleges indicated that Colleges of agriculture are better suited to male students. Significant differences at the level of 0.01 were detected, in means of students from Sciences Colleges and those students from humanities Colleges. Students from Sciences Colleges displayed different attitudes toward the field of agriculture than did students from humanities Colleges. Generally, students from Sciences Colleges possessed attitudes, which were supportive of agriculture as a career field. They viewed agriculture as being both scientific and technical. It was recommended that a counseling program should be implemented to better create awareness between students and identify and retain students who may be interested in pursuing degrees from the College of Agriculture

Keywords: attitudes, education, agriculture, colleges
 

How to cite this article: Shenaifi MS (2015). Effects of Educational Background on Students’ Attitudes toward Agriculture at king Saud University. Acad. Res. J. Agri. Sci. Res.  3(2):25-31. 
 

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