The Agricultural Knowledge and Perceptions of Incoming College Freshmen at a Land Grant University

As people have moved away from rural America toward urban areas, they have become deficient in their agricultural knowledge. Fortunately, the land grant universities exist to teach people about agriculture. Yet, identifying the agricultural knowledge and perceptions people bring to the university is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNACTA journal Vol. 61; no. 4; pp. 340 - 346
Main Authors Dale, Cameron, Robinson, J. Shane, Edwards, M. Craig
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Twin Falls North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) 01.12.2017
North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture
Subjects
Academic Advising
Agribusiness
Agricultural Education
Agricultural industry
Agricultural Production
Agricultural sciences
Agriculture
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes
College Freshmen
College Students
Colleges & universities
Community Characteristics
Community Relations
Criterion Referenced Tests
Definitions
Delphi Technique
Demographics
Economic Impact
Elementary Secondary Education
Food industry
Geographic Location
Grade Point Average
High Schools
Human capital
Individual Characteristics
Land Grant Universities
Learning
Literacy
Natural Resources
Principals
Public opinion
Response Rates (Questionnaires)
Rural areas
School Involvement
Security
State Schools
Testing
Urban areas
New York
United States > US
Oklahoma
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Summary:As people have moved away from rural America toward urban areas, they have become deficient in their agricultural knowledge. Fortunately, the land grant universities exist to teach people about agriculture. Yet, identifying the agricultural knowledge and perceptions people bring to the university is important to knowing how to improve their understanding. The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic makeup of incoming freshmen at Oklahoma State University and determine how their previous experiences in agriculture, or lack of, shaped their knowledge of the agricultural, food, and fiber industry. The study found that people who identified as growing up in rural areas outperformed those who did not. In addition, those who had experiences in FFA and 4-H programs outperformed those who did not. Overwhelmingly, the participants agreed that agriculture is fundamental to U.S. national security. Three-fourths of the participants strongly agreed that agriculture plays a key role in society. In all, 40% agreed that they would like to learn more about the agricultural industry, and 61% agreed it was very or extremely important for students at Oklahoma State University to take a general education course about agriculture.
ISSN:0149-4910