Exploring the Relationship Between Students’ Knowledge and Perception Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Veisi, Hadi; Hematyar, Hadi; Azar Kerdar, Hadi

Exploring the Relationship Between Students’ Knowledge and Perception Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

¹ Department of Agroecology, Enviromental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University

² Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agricultural Development and Economy, Tehran University

³ Climate Office of Kurdistan Province

Abstract

This study determines the relationship between students’ knowledge and their perceptions towards sustainable agriculture. 100 senior agricultural students from 10 different majors at the University of Tehran were selected by simple random method. A 10-point scale was used to measure students’ perceptions and knowledge towards sustainable agriculture. The validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and the scale was subjected to reliability testing using data collected in the pilot study. The Cronbach alpha coefficients were 0.62 and 0.86 for the scales of perception and knowledge, respectively. Students rated themselves as a group having limited knowledge of sustainable agriculture policy but high for their attitudes, especially for environment and livelihood (security food). The findings revealed that attitude dimension of environment and food security, and the knowledge dimension of practice and sustainable agricultural systems had specifically a greater role in determining relationship between students’ attitudes and their knowledge towards sustainable agriculture. Overall, to enhance students’ attitudes towards sustainable agriculture, it is suggested that more attention be paid to the concepts of policy determination and familiarize students with sustainable agriculture in agricultural curriculum development. Keywords:

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