ERIC Number: EJ1122938
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-0541
EISSN: N/A
Examining Undergraduate Student Attitude towards Interdisciplinary Education
DiBenedetto, Catherine A.; Lamm, Kevan W.; Lamm, Alexa J.; Myers, Brian E.
Journal of Agricultural Education, v57 n1 p167-178 2016
As the global population grows, concern for a food shortage may be looming. As the next generations of agricultural and natural resource leaders are prepared to address this challenge, input throughout multiple disciplines is required to solve this dilemma. Undergraduates must be prepared to engage in problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking if our society hopes to conquer this shortage. Opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary education can offer learning experiences focused on bridging research and policy, exploring real world problems, and developing solutions for socio-environmental issues. As interdisciplinary education in academia gains momentum, exploration is needed to understand the factors and influences affecting student attitude towards enrollment in interdisciplinary courses. This research examined the relationships between undergraduate goal orientation and attitude towards participation in interdisciplinary education specifically addressing, "How do we sustainably feed nine billion people by 2050?" Data was collected from a convenience sample of undergraduates who responded to Vandewalle's (1997) goal orientation and a researcher-developed instrument. Findings indicated undergraduates were most interested in nutrition followed by human disease management and water issues and least interested in economic concerns and plant disease management issues. Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation--prove were found to influence attitude toward interdisciplinary education.
Descriptors: Agricultural Education, Undergraduate Students, Student Attitudes, Interdisciplinary Approach, Goal Orientation, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Student Interests, Food, Hunger, Agricultural Production, Nutrition, Diseases, Water, Economics, Plants (Botany), Predictor Variables, Attitude Measures, Likert Scales, Multiple Regression Analysis
American Association for Agricultural Education. P.O. Box 7607, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, Raleigh, NC 27695. Web site: http://www.aaaeonline.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A