Agricultural education
Fatemeh Oskuhi; Hamid Movahed Mohammadi; Ahmad Rarezvanfar; amir alambaigi
Abstract
The entrepreneurial ecosystem within universities is crucial for entrepreneurial activities as it not only acts as a lubricant to accelerate the commercialization of knowledge but also provides a framework for maintaining sustainable development in university entrepreneurship and contributes to its dynamism. ...
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The entrepreneurial ecosystem within universities is crucial for entrepreneurial activities as it not only acts as a lubricant to accelerate the commercialization of knowledge but also provides a framework for maintaining sustainable development in university entrepreneurship and contributes to its dynamism. This research aims to investigate the importance of networking within the university entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our perspective is applied, focusing on identifying and analyzing the relationships between educational groups and other related educational groups/organizations, both intra-group and inter-group, as well as external to the university, to facilitate the transition from idea to market. In this context, eight expert faculty members with technology or innovation ownership or relevant experience (key academic informants) were selected based on their expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation. The research tools included a semi-structured questionnaire and interviews. The interviews were designed around six main axes covering topics such as communication networks, challenges in technology commercialization, and intra-group and inter-group transactions. The analysis of the social networks of educational groups, using UCINET software, led to the examination of the primary communication networks within educational groups to achieve technology/innovation. According to the findings from the network analysis, the structure of the university entrepreneurial ecosystem follows a distinctive relational pattern, where key network indicators highlight the vital roles of specific educational groups and intermediary institutions. At the institutional level, the Entrepreneurship Faculty and the Science and Technology Park have effectively acted as knowledge brokers, creating a significant bridge between academic actors and market sectors. From the perspective of internal cohesion, network density indicates the existence of strong collaborative infrastructures within the ecosystem, although this indicator simultaneously reveals a structural challenge due to weak connections with the fields of humanities (especially economics and agricultural promotion). Therefore, the effectiveness of this ecosystem is based on a triangular synergy: specialized academic cores as engines for technology production, interdisciplinary collaborations as lubricants for developing integrated solutions, and institutional-industrial support (including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Science and Technology Park, and the Iranian Plant Pathology Society) facilitating the transition from laboratory to market, enabling the sustainable transformation of innovative ideas into commercialized products in the agricultural sector.
Agricultural education
elham monazzah; ahmad rezvanfar; Seyyed Hamid Movahed Mohammadi
Abstract
Agriculture is one of the main pillars of the country's economy, and the need to examine e-commerce in this field is of significant importance. Given the importance of educating and raising awareness among producers about the necessity of implementing e-commerce models, this study aimed to analyze the ...
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Agriculture is one of the main pillars of the country's economy, and the need to examine e-commerce in this field is of significant importance. Given the importance of educating and raising awareness among producers about the necessity of implementing e-commerce models, this study aimed to analyze the educational needs of e-commerce architectures among cherry producers in Khorasan Razavi province. This province was selected due to its high cherry production and its exports to other countries. A mixed-methods research approach was employed in this study. In the qualitative phase, a document review and related literature analysis were conducted, and existing models were analyzed. Then, the theoretical model of the study was proposed based on the results of the qualitative analyses. In the quantitative phase, data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed through a panel of experts and reliability was verified using the composite reliability index. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1,365 cherry farmers in 2021, from which 300 were randomly selected as the sample. The results of second-order confirmatory factor analysis showed that the architectures of electronic auction systems, value chain service providers, and third-party markets had the highest alignment with the examined social system. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Agricultural Jihad Organization increases farmers' awareness of the benefits of these models through promotional training sessions and enhances their efficiency and income by providing communication facilities. Additionally, holding meetings and training courses to build trust and implement these models in the province is emphasized
Agricultural education
abdolrahim gheyassi; Amir Alambegi; Ahmad Rezvanfar; Seyed Mahmood Hosseini; seyed ahmadreza Pishbin
Abstract
The following research aims to provide a structural model for the development of essential soft skills in agricultural students. In this regard, a mixed approach (qualitative-quantitative) was used. In the qualitative part of the research, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ...
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The following research aims to provide a structural model for the development of essential soft skills in agricultural students. In this regard, a mixed approach (qualitative-quantitative) was used. In the qualitative part of the research, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 19 Participants (faculty members of agricultural majors) who are expert in the subject of research. Participants were selected using purposeful and snowball sampling methods. In qualitative phase, "grounded theory strategy" was used to design the initial model of the research. In the quantitative part of the research, after confirming the reliability and validity of the instrument, data were collected from 384 of the senior students of agricultural majors. In order to evaluate the research model, Structural equation modeling with partial least squares approach was used. The results of the research confirmed the research model. Based on this model, the factors affecting on essential soft skills and essential soft skills consequences for agricultural students were clarified.
Agricultural education
abdolrahim gheyassi; Amir Alambeigi; Ahmad Rezvanfar; Seyed Mahmood Hosseini; seyed ahmadreza Pishbin
Abstract
AbstractThe aim of this study was to explain the structural relationships between the components of essential soft skills in agricultural students (9 soft skills). In this regard, to achieve the aim of the study, the fuzzy DEMATEL technique was used. The views of 11 academic experts were collected through ...
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AbstractThe aim of this study was to explain the structural relationships between the components of essential soft skills in agricultural students (9 soft skills). In this regard, to achieve the aim of the study, the fuzzy DEMATEL technique was used. The views of 11 academic experts were collected through a questionnaire, based on the Likert scale. The results showed that communication skills, learning skills, and leadership skills are the most effective components, respectively. Also, findings indicated that the adaptability skills component is the most influential component. The results also show that five components (communication skills, emotional intelligence skills, leadership skills, learning skills, ethical skills) are causal factors and four components (problem-solving and decision-making skills, time management skills, teamwork skills, adaptability skills) Are effect factors. Thus, in higher agricultural education, while paying attention to the development of all essential soft skills, more focus and investment should be made on the development of communication skills, learning skills, and leadership skills, respectively.
nazanin varamini; ahmad rezvanfar; Hamid Movahed Mohammadi; seyed ahmadreza Pishbin
Abstract
Today, innovation is essential for organizations and the secret to their survival. The application of innovations, especially in the field of agricultural production and distribution methods, helps agricultural cooperatives to be flexible in dynamic markets against environmental fluctuations and achieve ...
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Today, innovation is essential for organizations and the secret to their survival. The application of innovations, especially in the field of agricultural production and distribution methods, helps agricultural cooperatives to be flexible in dynamic markets against environmental fluctuations and achieve their goals. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of group learning on training courses provided by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare on the use of innovations and whether group learning components can play an effective role in increasing the use of innovations in agricultural cooperatives. The causal-comparative research method and the statistical population included members of agricultural cooperatives in Tehran province in the fields of agriculture and horticulture (= 10180N). The sample size was 335 according to the Cochran's formula. In this study, a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of several sections, with a Likert spectrum, was used. These questionnaires were distributed by stratified method with appropriate attribution among 335 members of agricultural cooperatives. The content validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by a panel of experts from the Board of Directors of Agricultural Cooperatives and Cooperative Experts from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare. Its reliability was also confirmed by sequential theta and hybrid reliability. The results of research using structural equation method showed that from the perspective of agricultural cooperative members, group learning has a positive, direct and significant effect on the use of innovation and can play an effective role in increasing the use of innovation in agricultural cooperatives.
Mona Babaee; Hamid Movahed Mohammadi; Amir Alambegi; Ahmad Rezvanfar
Abstract
In recent years, a number of biodiversity in Iran have become extinct and many of them are on the verge of extinction, while biodiversity plays an important role in environmental life and health. This includes a large number of cultivated and horticultural species. Universities can play an important ...
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In recent years, a number of biodiversity in Iran have become extinct and many of them are on the verge of extinction, while biodiversity plays an important role in environmental life and health. This includes a large number of cultivated and horticultural species. Universities can play an important role in preserving and improving biodiversity. On this basis, Higher education institutions around the world have begun to change their missions, goals, and perspectives to address and integrate the challenges of biodiversity conservation. Creating such an educational structure will not simply happen and will require research, re-thinking and revising the components of the university. The human component of the system of higher education in agriculture and natural resources is one of the pillars of the system that plays a central role in advancing the system's objectives in a dynamic and harmonious connection with other components. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the components of faculty members' professional competencies for biodiversity education. This study was conducted with qualitative approach and inductive content analysis method. Required data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 24 experts in the field of environmental education and biodiversity selected by snowball sampling. He began the inductive content analysis by identifying the meaningful aspects and then labeling them in the form of qualitative identities and continued by categorizing the identities and linking them to categories. This process was implemented with the help of MAXQDA software. To validate qualitative findings, participant review and expert review strategies have been used. The findings showed that faculty members' professional competencies for biodiversity education included skills competencies, knowledge competencies, value competencies, and ethical competencies that each had indicators
Hamid Movahed Mohammadi; Zohreh Motamedi Nia; Ahmad Rezvanfar; Amir Alambaigi; Hossein Mahdizadeh
Abstract
The importance of startups in the field of agriculture is more evident than ever. Nevertheless, in order for this important matter to be realized, providing the environment and conditions or ecosystem for startups is essential. Considering the lack of experience of the agriculture sector of Iran for ...
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The importance of startups in the field of agriculture is more evident than ever. Nevertheless, in order for this important matter to be realized, providing the environment and conditions or ecosystem for startups is essential. Considering the lack of experience of the agriculture sector of Iran for creating such ecosystems, it is necessary to build on the experiences of pioneering entrepreneurial sectors and identify the components of agricultural startup ecosystems. This paper aims to present the accelerating model for academic entrepreneurial ecosystem growth based on Isenberg’s model, with an emphasis on the agricultural higher education from the viewpoints of startups experts. This applied research was carried out using survey method. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1800 startup experts in Iran. Using the Cochran formula, a sample comprising 286 individuals was selected by simple random sampling. To assess the validity of the research tool a divergent validity method was utilized, the amount of which for the constructs under study was above AVE ≥ 0.5 and acceptable. In order to determine the reliability, the combined reliability method was used, the amount of which for the constructs under study was above CR ≥ 0.6 and acceptable. The amount of the ordinal theta coefficient for the constructs was calculated to be above θ ≥ 0.7. In order to analyze the data, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used. Then according to the measurement model, the factors of the accelerating model for academic entrepreneurial ecosystem growth include enhancing the private sector, supporting productive entrepreneurship, developing entrepreneurship culture, entrepreneurial thinking, paying attention the role of consultants, providing the physical space, the ecosystem of training agricultural business skills, network building, the political image of the country’s market, and access to financial resources.
Zainab Moazen; Hamid Movahed Mohammadi; Seyyed Yousef Hedjazi; Ahmad Rezvanfar
Abstract
In the pathway of the evolution of higher education, there are footprint of different approaches and models of educational planning and curriculum that analytic perspective on approaches and fields reveals that each one is based on conditions, needs and constraints, and this is why continuous thinking ...
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In the pathway of the evolution of higher education, there are footprint of different approaches and models of educational planning and curriculum that analytic perspective on approaches and fields reveals that each one is based on conditions, needs and constraints, and this is why continuous thinking about Curriculum is essential. The curriculum is not separate from the discipline, and in its broadest meanings it is what is learned to the learner. Content of curriculum contains of organized and stored knowledge, terminology, information, reality, facts, principles, methods, concepts, generalizations, phenomena and issues related to the subject. Agriculture is a systematic science that is described by social and ecological systems, while the content of agricultural education programs focuses on separate disciplines (insectology, botany, etc.), which does not prepare students to deal with complex systems of Agriculture. Therefore, there is an urgent need in the agricultural education system and agricultural education and extension in order to change the orientation of the curriculum based on the interdisciplinary education approach. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is rethinking about the curriculum content of the undergraduate in the field of agricultural education and extension based on the principles governing the interdisciplinary approach. Which is Used the methodology of qualitative and quantitative content analysis and the technique of semi-structured interviews,to survey and identify the subjects and central signage; Topics, educational orientations and skills; and complementary disciplines and collaborative organizations from the perspective of faculty members and experts in the field of agricultural education and extension.
Zeinab Moazen; Hamid Movahed Mohammadi; Ahmad Rezvanfar; Seyyed Yousef Hedjazi
Abstract
The aim of this research was to analyze the components agricultural extension and education major according to interdisciplinary curriculum elements. The statistical population of the study included 302 students (1393-1396 for Master and 1391-391 for PhD) at universities of Tehran, Shiraz, Ramin, Kermanshah, ...
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The aim of this research was to analyze the components agricultural extension and education major according to interdisciplinary curriculum elements. The statistical population of the study included 302 students (1393-1396 for Master and 1391-391 for PhD) at universities of Tehran, Shiraz, Ramin, Kermanshah, and Zanjan. Using Krejcie and Morgan tables, a sample of 170 students was selected by stratified sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire. Its validity was confirmed by the faculty members and PhD students and graduates of Agricultural Extension and Education. Cronbach's alpha coefficient used to determine the reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The results of factor analysis showed that aim element had three component including acquiring cognitive skills, problem solving skills, and acquiring the skills of the real world of engineering. Content element had four components including: content cohesion, comprehensiveness of the content, the proper utilization of the content of the related disciplines, and the provision of complementary and relevant courses in terms of study. The element of teaching and learning strategies had three components including: problem-based teaching methods, the interaction of faculty members, and the use of cooperation of different disciplines in the teaching process. The element of learning experiences and activities had three components including: matching the experiences with the needs of the field and the interests of the students, setting out the activities and experiences of learning based on the internal and external workgroup, and designing challenging experiences and learning activities. T
