Gholamhossein Abdollahzadeh; Mohammad Sharif Sharifzadeh
Abstract
Social Network Sites (SNSs), as a tool for conveying educational messages, have a high position in the agricultural education system. The use of SNSs can affect different aspects of the educational system. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between the use of SNSs and various variables of ...
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Social Network Sites (SNSs), as a tool for conveying educational messages, have a high position in the agricultural education system. The use of SNSs can affect different aspects of the educational system. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between the use of SNSs and various variables of educational system outputs. This study seeks to identify the factors affecting the educational use of social media and academic performance of agricultural students. The statistical population was 111,528 students of public agricultural colleges across the country in the academic year 2018-2019, of which 400 students were selected from eight universities in the country using Morgan table and multi-stage random sampling method. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire using Likert Scale whose morphological validity was confirmed by a number of professors in the field of agricultural extension and Persian literature, and its content validity was confirmed by Average Variance Extracted (AVE between 0.64 and 0.73 for different variables) and reliability was confirmed using sequental theta (Ɵ between 0.85 and 0.92 for different variables). To investigate the effect of variables on students’ academic performance, t, f and Pearson correlation coefficient were used, respectively, and the findings showed that the most common use of SNSs among students is related to communicating with friends and family. There is a significant difference between the educational use of these networks by male and female students and also between students of different educational levels, but no significant difference was observed between different disciplines. It was also found that the rate of educational use of social networks among students who used these networks for educational purposes, has a positive effect on their academic performance, so it is suggested that educational administrators and planners as well as university professors pay more attention to the inclusion of these media in the curriculum.
Agricultural education
muhammadsharif sharifzadeh; Gholamhossein Abdollahzadeh
Abstract
Improving the employability of university graduates entails enhancement of skill training in curriculum development. Skill enrichment to the curriculum development in the agricultural higher education system implicates a systemic approach to understand the relevant requirements. The aim of this research ...
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Improving the employability of university graduates entails enhancement of skill training in curriculum development. Skill enrichment to the curriculum development in the agricultural higher education system implicates a systemic approach to understand the relevant requirements. The aim of this research was to develop a set of strategies and guidelines for the skill enrichment of the curriculum development in the agricultural higher education system. This research was carried out by qualitative approach using the focus group method. The research tool was a semi-structured interview with a group of the stakeholders of skill training in the higher agricultural education system (case of the Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources) who were selected by purposive sampling (n=12). In order to collect data in this research, first, by semi-structured interview, the narrative of the research participants was collected. Then, using qualitative content analysis of the narratives, key propositions were extracted, a focus group was formed and a facilitated group interview was conducted to find the components and indicators of the integration of skill training in curriculum development in the agricultural higher education system. According to the research findings, a model including five components was articulated: strategic principles of skill development, educational development measures with a skill training approach in three stages (design, implementation and evaluation), and finally, infrastructure development mechanisms for supporting skill training in the higher agricultural education system. As key implication of this research, reaching entrepreneurial learning as value add of university skill training requires which skill training, beyond an extracurricular activity, embedded in the process of university curriculum development.
muhamadsharif sharifzadeh; GHulamhusein Abdullahzadeh
Abstract
Entrepreneurship seem as the main force to enhance socio-economic and cultural development. Higher education system can contribute to entrepreneurship and enterprise development in agriculture sector both indirectly, through entrepreneurial education of agricultural students (teaching entrepreneurship ...
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Entrepreneurship seem as the main force to enhance socio-economic and cultural development. Higher education system can contribute to entrepreneurship and enterprise development in agriculture sector both indirectly, through entrepreneurial education of agricultural students (teaching entrepreneurship to students), and directly, by academic entrepreneurship and commercialization of university agricultural research (commercial utilization of university knowledge and technology and mobilizing university resources to enterprise development). This research aimed to identify and prioritize components and related indicators of entrepreneurship education in higher agricultural education system. In the first phase, a combination of systematic review and Delphi technique was conducted to extract and categorize indicators of entrepreneurial higher agricultural education. Using purposive sampling technique and regarding the research purpose, criteria for selection of participants as key experts were identified, as professional expert, lecturer or researcher in entrepreneurship. A total of 21 experts participated in the research. In the second phase, using AHP and TOPSIS, five categories of indicators of academic entrepreneurship were ranked, including: entrepreneurship education methods (20 items), curriculum development for entrepreneurship education (15 items), capacity-based content of entrepreneurship education (20 items), research in entrepreneurship education (20 items), professional development for entrepreneurship education (12 items), stakeholders and target groups of entrepreneurship education (9 items), promotion of entrepreneurial culture (in-formal entrepreneurship education) (23 items) and capacity and institutional development for entrepreneurship education (40 items).
