Factors Influencing Attitudes of Female Students towards Gardening: A Case Study

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing attitudes of female undergraduate students toward participating in gardening activities and determining factors influencing participation using a descriptive-analytic research by a surveying approach. The statistical population consisted of 433 female students enrolled in various disciplines at the three branches of the College of Science and Humanities at the Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia during the academic year 2016/2017. Out of the total population, some 90 students were selected randomly. A well-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was administrated as a research tool. Results of the study revealed that 42.2% of the target females were with positive attitude towards gardening and were agreed to get involved in the gardening activities, 30% students remained neutral whereas some 27.8% students showed a negative attitude towards agricultural work. The findings showed that there was a significant difference between agreed and disagreed female students regarding their participation in the gardening activities in terms of owning or renting a flower gift store (t= 3.8, p>0.01). Correlation analysis showed the significant relationships between participation in gardening activities, and type of residence (r = 0.86), ownership of residence (r = 0.82), father's occupation (r = 0.71) and place of residence (r = 0.53). It was concluded that the female students living in the owned houses and villas in rural areas and their father’s job were related to agriculture had more favourable attitudes toward their participation in the gardening activities. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended that curriculums must include field tours to equip the female students with skills needed in their practical lives and that stimulate their interest towards different agricultural issues.