Factors Affecting the Tendency of Agricultural Students of Tabriz University to Employment in the Field of Medicinal Plants

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
shapour zarifian 1
Hossein Raheli 2
Shamsi Beheshti Nahand 3
Marziyeh Arabi Chamalishahi 4
1 Agricultural Extension & Rural Development Dept./ Faculty of Agriculture/ University of Tabriz/ Tabriz/ Iran
2 Professor, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Extension and Natural Sources, University of Tabriz, Iran
3 PhD Student of Agricultural Development, University of Tabriz, Iran
4 MSc. Graduate of Sustainable Agricultural Extension and Natural Sources, University of Tabriz, Iran
10.30470/jrdes.2024.712416
Abstract
Medicinal plants in Iran are one of the sectors that have a high potential in to creat diverse and profitable job opportunities and can play an important role in eliminating the unemployment of agricultural graduates. The study aimed to identify the factors affecting the tendency of agricultural students of Tabriz University to work in the field of medicinal plants. This research was applied and descriptive-correlational method was performed. The statistical population of this study was 548 students in the last year of B.Sc. in different fields of agriculture at Tabriz University. The sample size (225) was determined by using the Krejcie-Morgan table, and the students were selected by stratified sampling with proportional assignment.  The data collection tool was a questionnaire in four sections with 86 questions. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the factors affecting students' tendency toward employment of medicinal plants in the form of two groups of promoter and inhibitory factors. The results of factor analysis showed that the promoter variables were in 5 factors that explained 57% of the total variance. The driving factors were: motivational-supportive, entrepreneurial, educational-research, and supervisory factors that the role of a motivation-supportive factor was more than other factors. Inhibitory variables were also included in 5 factors: infrastructure, lack of risk-taking spirit, resource constraints, entrepreneurial barriers, and economic barriers, which explained 47% of the total variance and the role of infrastructure barriers was more than other factors.
Keywords
Agricultural students
Employment
Medicinal plants
Students'
Tendency

  • Receive Date 22 July 2023
  • Revise Date 04 October 2023
  • Accept Date 21 February 2024
  • Publish Date 21 May 2024