Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate how a diverse student cohort was influenced by a general introductory Animal Science course offered to non-majors. To achieve this goal, an online survey was offered to students upon course completion and received 270 responses, from a total of 634 enrolled students. Reponses were coded using deductive coding according to pre-established research interests. A total of 81 different subcodes, grouped into 17 parenting codes were defined to characterize the following overarching themes: 1) Academic and agricultural background; 2) Career aspirations; 3) Course experience; 4) Course influence on future career; and 5) Course influence on consumer decision making. Correlation between codes was evaluated using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and only statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) correlations were included in the matrices for network analysis. Network analysis maps were generated from the matrices at 3 levels of significance (P ≤ 0.001; P ≤ 0.01 and P ≤ 0.05). Interpretation of generated network analysis map (7 clusters; P ≤ 0.01; Q = 0.713) regarding student academic and agricultural background and career aspirations revealed close relationships between major, background and career aspirations. Similarly, a stronger agricultural background was correlated to majors in agricultural fields. Other interesting findings include the relationship of students classified as Freshmen and agricultural majors, indicating that students in agricultural majors may show an interest in Animal Science earlier in their academic career compared with those in other majors. The interpretation of generated network analysis map (3 clusters; P ≤ 0.05; Q = 0.413) reveals Structure and design and Informative as important positive comments connecting two large clusters relating to overall course experience. These two specific clusters differ mainly by the class of student represented and how they are influenced by the course, with Seniors showing decreased interest in Animal Science, while Freshmen and Sophomores declaring greater interest in the subject after the course. Analysis of course influences on future career and on decision making as consumers of animal products (3 clusters; P ≤ 0.05; Q =0.465) shows a clear separation delineated by the student perception of the course relevance. Each of the three clusters contains either Relevant directly, Relevant indirectly or Irrelevant, categories referring to perception of the students of the course related to their career. Greater behavioral changes toward a more conscious consumption of animal products were observed in the Relevant directly cluster. This cluster also contained careers in the agricultural sector and as a veterinarian, in comparison with the Irrelevant cluster, which contained corporate careers. In conclusion, these data present information regarding student perception of animal science as classified by their major. This may provide a foundational framework for studying how individuals from different backgrounds interact with animal agriculture.