Philippine E-Journals

Perceptions of Faculty and Students on the Agriculture Programs of ISU-Cabagan

Audrey B. Simon | Gerald G. Claravall | Samuel R. Simon

Discipline: Natural Sciences

 

Abstract:

This study is conducted to determine the reasons in the declining number of students in agriculture programs of the Isabela State University (ISU), Cabagan campus. It specifically sought to determine the following: a) general perceptions in agriculture of faculty and students b) reasons of agriculture students in enrolling; andc) perception of faculty and students in the decreasing number of enrollees in the university’s agriculture programs. Descriptive method of research was used in this study in seeking answers to the problems. One hundred students and twenty faculty members randomly selected from the four colleges of the campus were the participants of this study. There were two sets of questionnaire used in gathering the data. The first set of questionnaire measured the perception of the faculty while the second set determined the perceptions of the students in agriculture programs of the university. Frequency distribution, weighted mean, percentage distribution and a five-point Likert type scale were used in the analysis and interpretation of the data.

 

This study found that the respondents perceived agriculture to be one of the major contributors in the economic development of the country. However, they also perceived that agriculture programs are less attractive, less useful, and less suitable to the new generation. This is because according to them the young generations of today do not want to work in the farm anymore which contributed to the decline of enrolment in the agriculture programs. Moreover, majority of the students who are taking agriculture programs are those who really have the passion in agriculture and others are those that have no other option but to take the opportunity of enjoying the free tuition fee education offered by schools with agriculture programs.