Jesper Larsson Agrarian history Urban and Rural development Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

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1 Jesper Larsson Agrarian history Urban and Rural development Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences April 22, 2015 Seminar paper in Agrarian History, April 29, 2015 Work in progress do not cite without permission A Student Perspective on History Education at SLU and Implications for Future Teaching Introduction SLU has a reputation of being a strong university for natural sciences, i.e. biology. A significant portion of Biology research in Sweden is performed at SLU. The professional programs at SLU are of uttermost importance for SLU and 80 percent of all students are registered to programs that give a professional diploma. Many of the programs given by SLU require a high school education in natural sciences, but in recent years more programs has opened for students with other backgrounds. However, agriculture, forestry or landscape architecture, to give a few examples, is more than natural science. They involve human interaction (Myrdal 2009). Hence, all programs taught at SLU touch upon social science and humanities in one way or another regardless if the program curricula reflects it or not. One of the subjects in social science that lingers over all educational programs is history. Every scientific field has it own history, treatment of animals has a history, land use management has a history, etc. The society is in constant change and today s knowledge is part of history tomorrow. Todays society will soon be viewed in the eye of history and to travesty Abraham Lincoln Fellow students, you can t escape history. Courses offered in my subject, Agrarian history, at SLU has changed fundamental over the last years. The total numbers of open courses available for students at SLU have been reduced since 2011 (Andersson- Eklund et al. 2011) and these changes have been especially hard for minor subjects, like Agrarian history. Teaching in Agrarian history used to be mainly based upon open courses that students at programs at SLU as well as students from elsewhere could take. On bachelor level it was possible to take 67,5 credits in open courses in Agrarian history. Today there is only one open course left at 10 credits (given during the summer session), and one mandatory course at the Agronomy rural development program at 10 credits (this course has a handful open spots). There is also one mandatory course in the Landscape architecture program at 5 credits and one optional course at Agronomy Economics program and Rural development program at 7,5 credits. This gives a total of 32.5 credits at bachelor 1

2 and advanced level. These fundamental changes, from open courses to mostly courses within programs and a large loss of credits (more than 50 percent) taught in Agrarian history on bachelor level has to be addressed. (The fact the university pays less for every credit taught in Agrarian history today than they did 10 years ago in another aspect that will not be further discussed here). One way to do it is to inquire the student s opinion about history and education. To change this development and build a strategic plan for future teaching in Agrarian history at SLU I think that it is necessary to know how students perceive history. A strategic plan should not be restricted by present time limitations and constrains for education at SLU, such a lack of money, limited possibility to provide open courses or the present constraints to make educational programs at SLU. A strategic plan must instead be built on an ambition to provide the best education in line with the core mission for SLU, and how to provide critical thinking about this mission. Hence, a strategic plan must include both thoughts about history as a general knowledge and Agrarian history as its own subject in relation to teaching. There are many arguments for incorporating history education in programs at SLU. However, the goal of this paper is not to deliver these arguments or elaborate on the benefit of history. This paper will take a student s perspective on these questions and inquire the students view on history and its relation to their education. Hence, the aim of the paper is to discuss the student s interest in history and how that interest is connected to teaching at SLU. The overarching question is whether it s important that students graduating from SLU have knowledge in history. In particular if students themself think it is important; and what kind of history they want? Different groups and individuals would answer questions about history and education very differently, but a very important perspective for a university is the student s opinion. A university that knows the students opinion have a chance to adjust their educational programs to accommodate the student s wishes. These changes could range from the content of specific courses to the over all structure of educational programs. When student s opinion are known it could also function as a starting point for a discussion about what knowledge the student s want to acquire in their education. A question connected to this discussion is if history is considered part of a general knowledge or if it is seen as specific knowledge. In this context, general knowledge in history is knowledge that all students in a program should have acquired when graduating. Specific knowledge in history is knowledge that a student voluntarily has chosen to acquire to reach broader or deeper understanding. How knowledge in history is viewed has consequences for if the university should offer open courses in history or incorporate history into programs. This question will be discussed, as the question above, from a student s perspective. Hence, this paper will not consider if there are other arguments for general and specific knowledge or its consequences for education at SLU, such as if there is a demand outside the SLU for open courses in Agrarian or Forest history or if there could be other values for the society. 2

3 In order to discuss the question posted above I have chosen to make a survey targeting students at SLU. A survey is a useful tool since it makes it possible to study overall patterns about student s history interest. Further, a survey allows for a discussion about differences among educational programs in their view on teaching in history. A survey will enable me to gather large amounts of data that makes it possible to discuss the relationship between educational programs, interest in history, and its implication for education. The results may have implications on how history might be taught at SLU in the future. Hence, the paper will conclude with some suggestion to change history education at SLU in order to strengthen education at SLU and make it more sensitive to the student s interest. Methods This paper is based on a survey (Appendix 1). It was conducted between February 3 at 10 a.m. to February 13 at p.m. The survey went to all register students at undergraduate s (first- cycle program, Bachelor level) level including the longer professional programs like agronomy and forestry. For the longer program year 4 and 5 are at advanced level. SLU offers 24 undergraduate and professional programs and to get in contact with the students I have used e- mail lists for each education program provided to me by IT Support at SLU. However, the survey was limited to the programs on the list and since there were only e- mails to students at the Hippology program (Equine Science) for 2014 and that list was invalid no students from the Hippology program participated in the survey. For some of the programs I did not get a list for all admission years, i.e. Master of Engineering programs (Table 1). Table 1. Educational Programs at SLU. Name of program and year of admission of the students that have received the survey. Name of program Agronomy Economics (Agronom ekonomi) Agronomy Domestic animals (Agronom husdjur) Agronomy Rural development (Agronom landsbygdsutveckling) Agronomy Food science (Agronom livsmedel) Agronomy Soil/plant (Agronom Mark/växt) Biology Environmental (Biologi och miljövetenskap) Biology Biotechnology (Biologi bioteknik) Master of Engineering Energy system (Civilingenjörsprogram - Energisystem) Master of Engineering Environmental and Water technics (Civilingenjörsprogram Miljö- och vattenteknik) Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare) Economics Bachelor (Ekonomi Kandidat) Ethology and Animal Welfare (Etologi och djurskydd) Student s admission to program (year) 2010 to to to to to to to to 2012* 2010 to to to to

4 Horticulture (Hortonom) Forestry (Jägmästare) Landscape architect - Alnarp (Landskapsarkitekt - Alnarp) Landscape architect Ultuna (Landskapsarkitekt - Ultuna) Agricultural management (Lantmästare) Forest management (Skogsmästare) Garden engineering Cultivation (Trädgårsingenjör Odling ) Garden engineering Design (Trädgårdsingenjör Design) Veterinary Medicine (Veterinär) Landscape engineering (Landskapsingenjör) Animal Science Bachelor (Husdjursvetenskap) Hippology (Equine Science) *I did not have access to e- mail list from to to to to to to to to to to to 2014 No access I used a tool from Netigate ( to make the survey. Netigate provides professional e- survey software and as an employee at SLU I was eligible to use the university s subscription after register as a user. I took an on- line course at Netigate to learn the software and I have consulted Netigate s support team several times. During the development of the survey a preliminary pilot survey was made with the purpose to check that the questions make sense. Colleagues conducted the pilot survey. Before the survey was launched a group of students completed it in an attempt to test it on the population I was targeting (Rowley 2014). The survey was divided into thirteenth question. The twelve first questions were multiple- choice questions and some of these questions had an over arching question that were divided into multiple question. In total there were 37 questions or statements the students had to answer. The last question in the survey was an open question where the student had the opportunity to elaborate their thoughts about history and SLU. The questions could be divided into three sections; 1) The student s interest in history; 2) statements about history and if they agree or not: and 3) Questions about the respondent. The first section dealt with question about the student s interest in history and had three parts (Appendix 1). The first part was a question about their general interest in history. The second part asked multiple questions about their interest in more traditional history, such as global history or political history. The third part targeted their interest in history connected to the core of SLU s mission; domestic animals, agriculture, forestry, environment, etc. In the second section a number of statements were made about history and the student had to choose how much they agree on a scale from one to five (totally disagree to totally agree). This section was also divided into three parts and the first dealt with history at a more general level, the second had statements about how history could be used in more general situations and in education. The third part had statements about history s role in professional life and at SLU s programs. There was also a yes and no question whether they knew that Agrarian History is an independent subject at SLU. In the third, and last, part the survey included questions about the students with the purpose to identify any correlations 4

5 between the education and students interest in history. The survey asked about what program they were enrolled in and in what year of the program they were (what year they study). There was also a question whether they had attended high school in Sweden and if they studied history in high school. The survey was sent by e- mail to the student with a very brief message in Swedish and English stating that by taking part in the survey they could impact their education and at the same time take part of a lottery for movie tickets. They also got information that the survey would take five minutes to complete and that it was about education, history and SLU. By following the link in the e- mail they would start the survey. I also provided my name, position at my university and department affiliation, address (including e- mail), and phone number. For students using e- mail accounts provided by SLU it was possible to see a picture of me in the upper right corner of the e- mail. When entering the survey through the link the students first had to choose language, the options were Swedish or English. They first received a short letter that explained the survey in more detailed: Why they had received the survey (because they are student at SLU) and the purpose of the survey ( The survey seeks to learn how you feel about history as a subject and how important you think it is that SLU s first- cycle programs incudes history at any form ). They were given information that the survey was made in the context of a course in pedagogics at SLU and that the survey may have implications for the future design of courses at SLU. I repeated that the survey would take five minutes to complete and added that the information would be treated confidentially. I also gave the rules for the lottery and said that to be eligible to win one of 10 movie tickets the students had to enter their e- mail address in the end of the survey. The purpose of the lottery was to give an incentive to complete the survey and it was also a small tribute. If the lottery had any impact on the result it is most likely that it encourage people with little interest in history to enter the survey. Many surveys are targeting student to get their opinion. One reason for this is that students are a quite easy group to get in contact with (they spent a lot of time online) and that they often can manage their time more freely than many other groups. Their opinion is important because they are young and will be around for a long time and will impact the future. In this survey I targeted student because I am interested in them as students, specifically their education. Students at SLU SLU s mission is to develop the understanding and sustainable use and management of biological natural resources. According to this mission all educational programs that the university offers are related to biological natural resources in some way. As a quite small university with a distinct profile, most students have made a clear choice to come to one of SLU s 24 programs. Hence, many students at SLU have a high commitment to their studies since they have a large interest in the subjects. As we will see later, when the results of the survey are discussed this deep interest in their education reflects how they perceive history and what kind of history they are most interested in. 5

6 Results In total 998 students clicked the link in the e- mail and made the first step and choose language. Only four chose to do the English version. Of the total 998 students who started the survey 865 completed it giving a drop out rate of 13 percent. The largest drop out was during the introduction letter before answering the first question. Eight percent left the survey here (82 individuals). This is consistent with studies on dropout rate showing that 10 percent of participants could be expected to drop out nearly instantaneously (Hoerger 2010). The reason to dropout might have been lack of interest in history education, but that is probably a premature conclusion. The drop out is more likely to be connected to time constraints for the participants or other reason not connected to the student s interest in history. Of the 27 students that have answered that they have a very little interest in history no one dropped out of the survey. On the other hand people with a higher interest did drop out (Interest in history, from very little to very large, and completion of the survey, 1= 100 %, 2 = 93 %, 3 = 91 %, 4 = 97 % and 5 = 98 %). This supports the assumption that low interest in history did not increase the probability to drop out. What was the response rate for the survey? As mentioned above 865 students completed the survey and the total number of recipients of the e- mail list is students. 1 However, many of these students are not active students any more, but students keep their e- mail account at SLU seven year after last registering on a course. Hence, many former students at the bachelor s program who received the survey have already graduated. Almost all who have received and answered the survey are active students, and not former students. This is shown by the fact that of the 865 people that have completed the survey only 18 people had graduated (2 % of all answers). To get a reliable response rate one instead has to match the number of answers with the number of students at SLU, not people included in the e- mail lists. The number of full year students at SLU s undergraduate and graduate courses was 3,805 in year 2014 (Årsredovisning 2014). 2 But since the survey was not given to students who were part of a master program the number of students who received the survey was lower. Register master program students were 161 in the year 2013 and 196 in the year of 2014 (total of 357). 3 With at least around 100 students missing from the list for other reasons the response rate was approximately 25 percent. According to Rowley (2014) 20 percent can be regarded as a good response rate and the total number of responses makes the overall result of the survey robust. Looking more in to detail at the response rate many of the programs have had a higher response rate, providing a solid ground to analyze relations between educational programs and history at SLU. Before going into the response rate at different programs I have to say a few word about the number of programs. As 1 Thanks to Kjell Gustafsson at IT- support for the number. 2 The e- mail lists used were updated in the beginning of September Thanks to Emma Capandegui at the Division of Educational Affairs at SLU for the number of Master program students. The number of master students by October 6,

7 earlier mentioned SLU offers 24 programs. In the survey I have merged some of these programs: The two Biology programs, the two programs in Civil engineering, the two Landscape architecture programs and the two programs in Garden engineering. For Veterinary Medicine, Forestry and Landscape architecture more that one hundred students have completed surveys each. For nine other programs there are between thirty and sixty answers per program (Agronomy Rural development, Agronomy Animal Science, Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare), Agronomy Economics, Garden engineering, Ethology and Animal Welfare, Agronomy Soil/plant, Landscape engineering). By merging the different programs into four larger themes; Agriculture/Environment, Animal Science, Garden/Landscape and Forestry it was possible to also analyze the programs with fewer answers. The number of answers in each theme and the programs included are shown in table 2. These themes correspond to the university s division into faculties. Table 2. Four overarching themes, the program included in these themes and the number answers from students in each theme. Themes Number of Programs included Answers Agriculture/Environment 220 Agronomy Economics, Rural (Jordbruk/Miljö) development, Food science, soil/plant. Biology, Master of Engineering, Economics Bachelor, Agricultural Management Animal Science (Djur) Garden/Landscape (Trädgård/landskap) 281 Agronomy Animal science, Veterinary Nursing, Animal Science - Bachelor, Ethology and Animal Welfare, Veterinary Medicine.* 201 Horticulture, Garden engineering, Landscape architecture, Landscape engineering. Forestry 148 Forestry (Jägmästare) (Skog) Forest management (Skogsmästare) Others 15 Mostly students on master programs *Students from Hippology program (Equine Science) is missing General I will start by giving an overview of the result and after that go into how students at the different programs have responded. Forty percent of the student at SLU has a large (34 percent) or very large (6 percent) interest in history. Sixteen percent has a small (13 percent) or a very little (3 percent) interest in history (all statistics in Appendix 2). On top of their general history, students have a higher interest in global history, followed by national history and local history. Social history is of more interest than economic history and political history. In subjects related to the core of SLU s mission Agricultural history is of most interest followed by History of Natural Resources. The only subject that had an average below 3 is Garden history and Veterinary Medicine history. However, later when looking closer into how students at different programs perceive 7

8 different aspects of history it becomes apparent that there are quite large differences between the programs. Almost all students think that history gives them common knowledge (More than 90 % agreed and totally agreed). Most students also thinks history provides perspectives on the present (87 percent) and that history provides context (75 percent). Only very few students thinks history is uninteresting (4 percent) and a few more thinks history is boring (13%). Looking into the four different themes students at the animal science programs scores a little lower than the other three themes on interest in history and more students from these programs thinks history is boring. When the students were asked about if they think history is important for better understanding of other cultures a majority agreed (82 percent). Three out of four students (73 percent) thinks it is important to consider the history of a place or site when developing land for future use. Only six percent of the students do not think this is important to consider. Two out of three (67 percent) students agree or totally agree with the statement that biodiversity, land use and history are connected. Only seven percent of the students do not think there is a connection. Half of the students (51 percent) think that a college education should always include some historical courses/components while 21 percent of the students are of the opposite opinion. A majority of the students (56 percent) think they get better in their future job if they have knowledge of the profession s history. Fifteen percent do not think that history knowledge will make them better in their professional career. When asked if they wanted more history linked to the education they study the same number of students (34 percent) agree and disagree. The number of students who would like more general Agrarian and Forest history in teaching at SLU is 26 percent, while 44 percent do not want more. The number of students that thinks there is to little history in their education is 29 percent, while only six percent thinks there is too much history. More than two out of three (71 percent) students at SLU do not know that Agrarian history is an independent subject at the university. The student s that have responded to the survey are distributed quite equally over the study years and similar to the actual number of students in each year. The number of students in year two and three is a little higher than in year one. Almost all students have had their high school education (97 percent) in Sweden. Only 14 percent did not take history in high school. Agriculture/Environment (NJ Faculty) This theme consists of ten different programs and most of them are located to Campus Ultuna. Two of the programs are joint programs with Uppsala University. Agronomy Economics The number of students that has completed the survey from the Agronomy Economics program is 47. The students have an interest in general history that 8

9 in in line with the average student at SLU. Their interest in Global history is above average and they score the highest point of all educational programs at SLU in their interest in Economic history. Among subjects related to the core of SLU s mission they have a large interest in agricultural history, while their interest in the history of animal science and garden history is quite small. Most of them think that history provides both perspective and context. A majority of them agrees with the statement that one should consider a place history before developing land for future use and that biodiversity, land use and history are connected. However they score lower on this than the average student at SLU and lower than other Agriculture/Environment students. The number of students who know that Agrarian History is an independent subject at SLU are the second highest of all programs with 83 percent. Eight students have given thoughts about their education. Most of them express a desire to have more history as an integrated part of their education. One of them advocates of more Agrarian history and is saying I think it is important to study for example Agrarian history, since it gives us an understanding what the society looks like today, when in comes to the relation between country side and cities, resource exploitation, etc. It might be best to have it [Agrarian history] as an optional course on the programs that does not have a direct connection to the subject (1.7) 4 Another student conclude Interesting, but it should not take time from other subjects if not the student by him or her self takes the decision to go deeper into the subject (1.4). Agronomy Rural development The number of students that has completed the survey from the Agronomy Rural Development program is 60. Students at this program have the largest interest in general history of all programs at SLU. They have a particular interest in global history and social history. Among the history subjects that are at the core of SLU s mission they have the largest interest in Agrarian history followed by history of Natural resource management. They also score high in Environmental history. Students at Rural Development program also score highest when asking if history provides general knowledge and if history provides perspective and context (tie with Landscape architecture students on the question about context). They strongly agree with the statement that history makes it easier to understand other cultures and students at this program most strongly agree that a collage education should include some historical courses/components. To a large extent they agree with the statements that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use and they strongly agree that biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. They score high on the statement that they get better at their job if they have knowledge in their professions history and a majority of them want more history linked to the education they study and also want more general Agrarian and 4 The number corresponds to Appendix 3, where all replies to the open question are listed. The first number corresponds to the program and the second to the order they are listed, i.e. 1.7 stands for Agronomy Economics (1) and reply number 7. The replies are originally given in Swedish (in almost all cases ) and the translation above is mine. In Appendix 3 all replies are given in the original language. 9

10 Forest history in the teaching at SLU. The Rural Development program is the program were most students know that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU (93 percent) and a reason for this might be that they have a course in Agrarian history during year one. Twenty students have given their thoughts about history and almost all of them have a positive view of history and history education at SLU and one students concludes that: History gives a opportunity to understand how the world and society in construct (3.18). One student emphasis the connection about history education and the present I think history education is important. I m very grateful that we had the opportunity to study Agrarian history in the first year of the Rural development program. To understand present day rural society one needs knowledge about rural history (3.13). Agronomy Food Science The number of students that have completed the survey from the Agronomy Food Science program is 23. Compare with the other Agronomy programs they have less interest in history and they score under the over all average. They score below average interest in all history subjects related to SLU core mission and have a very low interest in subjects like Forest history and Garden history. However, a majority of them think they would get better at their job if they have knowledge in the profession s history. Of the seven students that have given comments some of them express an interest in history connected to food and cooking. Some thinks that a little history as part of the lectures is good, but do not want it as a subject of its own Could be interesting as a background, for example as a introduction to a lecture, but I m not interested in a course in just history (4.2), while other students would like more general history. Would be interesting to study the Agrarian history course, or more general about the profession (Agronomist) through time (4.5). But there are also students that value history knowledge in a more general sense Preset time is a reflection of our history, to know about it is absolutely necessary for the development of our future (4.6). Agronomy Soil/Plant The number of students that have completed the survey at Agronomy Soil/Plant is 34. Students at the Soil/Plant program have a quite large interest in general history and scores a little above average for students at SLU. They have their largest interest in Local history and National history and also a large interest in Global history. They have a large interest in social history but not so much in Political history and Economic History. In history close to SLU s mission they have a very large interest in Agrarian History. In History of Natural Resource Management and Forest history they score higher than average. Very few of them think history is boring or uninteresting. They agree strongly that history provides general knowledge and gives perspective and context. They score lower than average, but still agree, that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use. They agree that they would be better in their job if they have knowledge of the profession s history and though it is tie between students who want more history linked to their education and students who do not want more, a majority of them would like to have more general Agrarian and Forest history in teaching at SLU. Sixty- five percent of the 10

11 students know that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU and this is the third highest of all programs at SLU. Eleven students have given more elaborated comments. A few students have mentioned that teachers at the program try to integrate history into the subject by often elaborate over it during the first lectures. However, not all student thinks that this is enough and one student complain that there is not so much Agricultural history in the program and concludes It would have been interesting to have mandatory course in Agrarian History in the beginning of the program where one could discuss agriculture in different part of the world and reflect on different agricultural system in the past and present (5.1). One student expresses that there are time constraints: It [Agrarian history] is an interesting subject, but compare to other courses during three or four years I think it will lose since all other courses will give more important knowledge to carry into one s professional life (5.5). One student expresses the dilemma between existing courses and a wish for new courses: I wish that my program were more interdisciplinary and that social science and history was in the program I attend. It would anchor knowledge in a better context and prepare better for professional life. A alternative would be to expand the possibility to have open courses (5.11). Biology Bachelor The number of students that have completed the survey from the Biology Bachelor s programs (includes two programs) is 25. Students at the Biology program score lower on almost all questions about interest in different type of history compare to the average student at SLU. They also had the highest score of all program on the question if history is boring. The only kind of history where they score higher than the average student at SLU is in Environmental history. However, there are individual students at the program with a quite large interest in history. Even if a majority of the students at the Biology programs think they will be better in their job if they have knowledge in their profession s history, few of them actually want more history linked to their program and even fewer want more general Agrarian or Forest history in teaching at SLU. Only three students have answered the open question in the end of the survey and of them only one was possible to interpret. It might be that this student is a voice for more students at the program when he or she express that Knowledge in history is ONLY useful incase it could be connected with processes and perspective on the present (6.2). Agricultural management (Lantmästare) The number of students that have completed the survey from the Agricultural management program (Lantmästare) is 18. The number is in the lower range for statistical analyzes, but the results are in line with other programs related to agriculture. The students at the Agricultural management program have a quite strong interest in history from global to local history. They like social history and they have a remarkable strongest interest in Agricultural history and they score highest of all programs at SLU for this category. They have a general high interest in history connected to the core of SLU s mission with the exception of garden history. They score a little lower than the average student at SLU on the questions about considering the history of a place before developing land for future use and about the connection between biodiversity, land use and history. 11

12 They score a little higher than the average student at SLU on the question if they want more history linked to the education they study and they are in the top five on the question if they would like to have more general Agrarian and Forest history in their education. Hence, it is not surprisingly that most of them thinks that there is too little history in their education. Only three of the students know that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU. Seven students have given comments and these reflect the importance of history most students on the Agricultural management program has expressed. One student argues that it is Important with history not at least in the green sector. It is of uttermost importance to know the historical development since the technical development has been very fast the last 50 years with consequences for soil and environment. Today the knowledge about the described development is of big importance if one want to take part in the discussion in the sector and to promote the development to a more sustainable world and a viable industry in Sweden (15.6). One student expresses it almost as a proverb about knowing the past for guidance to the future (15.2) and one student just exclaimed More History! (15.7). Master of Engineering and Economics Bachelor The number of students that has answered the survey from the two Master of Engineering programs and from The Economics Bachelor s program are less than 10 from each program and will not be further analyzed. Summary: Agriculture/Environment In total 220 students have answered the survey from the theme agriculture/environment. Students from programs more directly related to agriculture and land use or rural development issues have a stronger interest in history than students in the educations that is closer to microbiology. Most students score higher on their interest in global history compare to their general interest in history. They have a particular interest in social history and of history connected to core subjects at SLU. Agricultural history is the most popular followed by the History of natural resources. They have less interest in History of Veterinary Medicine, Landscape history, and Garden history. They strongly agree that history gives perspective as well as context. Most of them agree that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use and that biodiversity, land use and history are connected. Most of them think they will get better at their job if they have knowledge about their professions history. Their responses about more history linked to their education and more general Agrarian and Forest history in teaching at SLU demonstrates that slightly more students wants more history in their education compared to the grand average. Students from this theme are among the SLU students who are most familiar with the fact that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU and the subject is particular known among students at the agronomy programs. Animal Science (VH Faculty) Animal science consists of six programs that are (since the fall of 204) located at campus Ultuna, except for the Hippology (Equine Science) program, and as mentioned earlier there is no data from this program. 12

13 Agronomy - Animal Science The number of students that have completed the survey from the Agronomy Animal science program is 56. Students from this program scores lower than average on the question about interest in general history and they also score lower than average on everything from global history to Economic history. However, that does not mean that they lack interest in history. They have a large interest in subjects at the core of SLU s mission and score very high on the History of domestic animal, and high on Agricultural history and History of Veterinary Medicine. They score lower in Forest history and Garden history compared to the grand average. To a less degree than most students at SLU they think history provides perspective and context, although they score quite high. A majority of them actually thinks that they will be better in their job if they have knowledge in the profession s history. Forty- five percent of the students know that Agrarian history in an independent subject at SLU. Sixteen students have answered the open question in the end of the survey. These answers express many different views on history in their education among the students at the agronomy animal science program. History is quite insignificant in the program today (2.3) is the opinion of one student, while another express that there is Quite enough [history] in my education (2.1) while a third is saying, It [history] should be part of the program (2.2). Some students think that the teachers take history into account in their teaching: In some courses the historical aspect are woven in nicely (2.7). One student is expressing the benefit with history: I think it should be more history [in education] since it explain a lot of how it is today (2.15). One students complain that there are hardly any open courses in Agrarian history: What a pity that all open courses in Agrarian history, except one, has been cancelled, I would gladly have taken the others (2.12). Students are apparently talking to students on other programs and compare their programs and one student express her dissatisfaction with the comparison: I have talked to a friend on the Landscape architecture program (1 st year) and she told me that they are taught Agricultural history. I think it would have been of interest for us Agronomist in animal science program too. At least a few lecture in the introduction course the first semester (2.9). Ethology and Animal Welfare (Etologi och djurskydd) The number of students that have completed the survey from the Ethology and Animal Welfare program is 36. They show a pattern similar to student in agronomy animal science program, but their general interest in history is slightly higher and they have a quite large interest in social history. They have a very large interest in the History of Domestic animals and they score quite high in History of Veterinary Medicine and they score above average in Environmental History. Their interest in Garden history is low. They think history gives perspective and context and a majority of them thinks that a collage education should always include some historical courses/components. Most students think the history part of their education is on the right level My opinion is that history is an important part in the education if it is connected to the aim of the program, in my program this requirement is fulfilled (10.4). However, there are different opinions and one student complains [My] experience is that we don t learn much history at SLU (10.5) and one student thinks it a quite enough with history in the program, but express appreciation of 13

14 the Peter Hernqvist Day which was interesting when it was introduced by a little talk about Peter Hernqvist and his life (10.8). Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare) The number of students that have completed the survey from the Veterinary Nursing program is 54. Students at the program score lower than the average students at SLU in their interest in general history as well as other aspects of more traditional history. However, their interest in the history of some of the core subjects at SLU is well above average for all students. It is in particular their interest in the History of Domestic animals that is very high, and their interest in History of Veterinary Medicine is high. They score lower than the average student on the question about whether history gives perspective and context. They do not think that history is common knowledge in the same extent that other students at SLU do. However, to say that they score lower on those questions is not the same as to say they have a low interest. Their opinions about history resemble that of students on other animal science program as expressed in their comments: I think history is an interesting subject, but I do not think it is necessary to include more history in my program, since my teachers do a good job in providing us with necessary history (8.1). One students express I think it is just enough history interwoven in my program. When a new course begin the first lecture starts with history as a foundation for understanding where the discipline emanates from (8.4). One student concludes, It would be more interesting as an evening activity (8.5) and probably expressing that history education should not interfere with the other subject in the program, but since many student have an interest in history they would voluntary take open courses outside the program. Veterinary Medicine The number of students that have completed the survey from the Veterinary Medicine program is 132. It is the highest number of answers among all programs at SLU. The answers from students on the Veterinary Medicine program resemble the answers from the other animal science programs. They have a lower interest in general history than most students at SLU and in more traditional fields of history such economic history and political history. Students at the Veterinary Medicine Program have the largest interest in the History of Veterinary Medicine where they score very high. They score almost as high on the History of Domestic Animals as the other programs in animal science. They strongly agree with the statement that history provides perspectives on the present, more so than with the statement that history provides context. Even if not many students think history is uninteresting, the program is in the top of students who thinks history is boring (although the majority of students at the program do not think so). They disagree more with the statement that a collage education should always include some historical courses/components compare with students at the other programs. Veterinary Medicine is the education where the least number of students think they will get better in their job if they have knowledge of the profession s history. This does not mean that most of them are uninterested in history. In the open question, which 15 students answered, many of the students express that they have an interest in history, but they do not want to sacrifice any other course for a course in history. One student write: History 14

15 is important to get the context, but it s not possible to squeeze to much into a program. It is not possible to make the same thing for all programs at SLU (18.13). Another student is complaining that A little History of Veterinary Medicine wouldn t hurt, however it s not possible to squeeze it in in the already chock- full scheduled, it is so much we had to cover over 5.5 years (18.14). Some students are expressing that their teachers are integrating history into their lectures: The teachers mix in just enough history with a couple of slides in a ppt [PowerPoint] in the introduction of a new topic/subject (18.15). However, not all students think this is enough: Teacher that come up with their own history is nice, but it would have been better with pure history (18.8) is one student s opinion. One student compares the experience from being a Veterinary Medicine student in the Czech Republic with being a student at SLU. In the Czech studies they had a topic called Ethics and History of Veterinary Medicine. The course was according to the student a little bit to profound, but at SLU history is more or less absent (18.1) and the student wants a little more. Animal Science Bachelor s program The number of students that has answered the survey from the Animal Science Bachelor s program is less than ten and will not be further analyzed. Summary Animal Science This part is missing, and will be done later. Garden/Landscape (LTV Faculty) Garden/Landscape consists of five programs. Four of them are located at Campus Alnarp and one is located at Campus Ultuna. Horticulture The number of students that have completed the survey from the Horticulture program is 12. It is quite a small number and makes it hard to make more general comments. Students at this program have a quite large interest in general history, with a particular interest in Garden history, but also a high interest in Agricultural history, the History of natural resources management, and Forest history. They agree quite strongly that one should consider the history of a place when developing land for future use. The student from this program are among those who most strongly want more history linked to their education and it is the program where the students most strongly agree that they would like to have more general Agrarian and Forest history in teaching at SLU. One third of hem knew that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU. Only two students have answered the open question in the end of the survey about their thought on history at SLU. One of them are expressing that their teachers are integrating history in their teaching, but that it is not enough: Teachers usually includes a little how it has looked like historically, but not enough to make one comprehend it (12.2). Landscape architecture There are two different programs in Landscape architecture at SLU, one program taught at Campus Alnarp and one program taught in Campus Ultuna. The survey did not ask which of the two programs the student attend. The number of 15

16 students that have completed the survey from the two Landscape architecture programs is 112. It is the third largest number of all program included in the survey. Students from these programs have a general history interest in line with many other programs but score a little higher than the average program in their interest in local history. They are not particular interested in Agricultural history or Forest history, but have a large interest in Landscape history, Garden history, and quite high interest for Environmental history. They strongly agree that history in common knowledge and they strongly agree that history gives perspective and context. Very few of them think history is uninteresting. The students at these programs score highest of all programs (tie with Landscape engineering) when it comes to the question if they get better in their job if they have knowledge of the professions history. Most of them think that the element of history in their education is at the right amount. About one third of them know that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU. Forty- one students have answered the open question, the highest number for all programs. Many of the responses express that they have history as a part of their education and that they are quite satisfied with it both in the amount of history and with the content in their education. One student concludes their view by expressing Relevant and absolutely sufficient at my program (14.1) and one is expressing appreciation that history education has connection to a their future professional career: Good with the link [of history education] to the educational program. We quite fast got an insight how we will use history in our professional life s (14.21). But there are different opinions and quite a few students are not satisfied with the amount of history taught and express that there is a lack of history education at a deeper level or that history is to focused on a narrow scope. These students want a broader scope, not limit history education to parks. One student went outside SLU to get a deeper understanding of history and writes: It is both fun and interesting with history. I took a course in history at Lund University and it has totally changed my perception on humans. At SLU it is quite little history in the courses, what s in them is often the most obvious, as the largest parks, etc. (14.6). There are more students with a similar view: Within the Landscape architecture program I have had only one course in history. It was about what parks looked like during different epochs. This is of course important to have knowledge of. But I would have appreciated more general landscape history. Something like history with emphasis on the everyday landscape (14.9). I have just stared, and we have had one course in history so far, (Landscape and the history of the park, 10 credits) and I m unsure if it will be more. It would have been fun if one also touched upon Landscape and Forest history to give a better understanding of the present situation. The course we where taught only encompassed gardens and grounds. (14.10). There are also students that think the amount of garden history that they have today is not enough and that it is important to integrate history in the courses. One student remarks about the history education: It should have been an integrated part in the education (14.4) and one student is complaining I took a course in Park and Garden history but it was quite unproblematic and Eurocentric. I would like to see more elements of history in other courses to, since knowledge in the historical context always is relevant, regardless the course (14.8). A few thinks that the history courses that they have could be changed to better reflect the student s interest. Hardly anyone is expressing that it too much history or that it is irrelevant. The 16

17 amount of answers and the content in them might be interpreted as an expression of the students at the Landscape architecture programs commitment and appreciation of history in their education, but that it could be improved. Garden engineering (Trädgårdsingenjör) There are two different programs in garden engineering at SLU (one in cultivation and one in design), both programs are taught at Campus Alnarp. The survey did not ask which of the two programs the student attend. The number of students that have completed the survey from the Garden engineering program is 45. Students at these programs have a larger interest in history than the average student at SLU and they have a large interest in global history, local history and social history. This large interest in history is reflected in their interest in history connected to the core of SLU s education. They have a very large interest in Garden history, the largest of all programs, and they have a large interest in Environmental history, Landscape history and the History of natural resources. They strongly agree that history gives perspective and context and very few of them thinks history in uninteresting. The students at these programs are the once that most strongly agree that biodiversity, land use and history are connected. They are the program, together with Landscape architecture, that most strongly agree that they get better in their job if they have knowledge in the professions history and it is the program that most clearly express that they want more history that is linked to their education. Many of them also want more general Agrarian and Forest history. Only 16 percent of them knew that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU. One third of them have answered the open question about history and almost all of them express a large interest in history and that there could be more history in their education. This student express in two sentences the overarching result for Garden engineering: In my program (Garden engineering Design) only includes a 7.5 credit course in garden history. I would like to learn a little more in the subject (17.1). The two programs in Garden engineering, cultivation and design, differ when it comes to how much history they are taught and one student complains: I think it is a major flaw in the education that it is so little garden history and cultivation history. [Garden engineering] design has some, but [Garden engineering] cultivation has hardly anything. /. / It is important to have knowledge how one cultivated in the past, to learn from it (17.2). But also student at the design program wants more history: In the program garden engineering design we only have a little course in garden history. I would have preferred more. (17.14) One student advocates open courses: I would gladly see open courses in history. Also for us who takes Garden engineering - cultivation (17.12). One student express that history is important for critical thinking and points to the fact that there are different ways to interpret history and the student is critical to other branches of SLU: When the forest is considered it would be good to inform our collogues in Umé [Umeå] that forest/agricultural history about agricultural land planted with trees in much more complicated than what is usually told. But the winners write history and the students should not know that the numbers on a piece of paper does not tell the whole true. (17.3). Landscape engineering 17

18 The number of students that have completed the survey from the Landscape engineering program is 32. The students at this program have a quite large interest in history with a larger interest in local history than the average SLU student and a smaller interest in political history. In history related to the main topics in SLU s education students from this program have their largest interest in Landscape history, the History of natural resources and Garden history. They score less than the average student on questions if history provides perspective and context. Most of them strongly and quite strongly agree that one should consider the history of a place when developing land for future use. The majority of them also think that they get better in their job if they have knowledge of the profession s history. A large part, two out of five students (total 13 answers), has answered the open question in the end of the survey. Almost all of them have a positive view of history, although not all of them think that the program needs more history education or that history is always thought in the best way. One student is expressing this by saying I think we have had too little history in the program, but if one had used the history credits we have taken in a more efficient way we had been able to get more knowledge out of the subject (20.8). Many of the answers express an appetite for more history Since I have a interest in history I think of course that more history about soil and forest should be in the Landscape engineering program even if we have garden history which is not the same as Agrarian history More Agricultural and Forest history, Thanks! (20.1). We would have had more Garden history (20.2) is one student saying and other express the same thing. About the amount of history education in the program one student makes it short by saying Much too little (20.7). One student wants to avoid history, even though he or she thinks it is important: Important subject, but according to me very boring. It should be optional (20.3). One is making their point by just exclaiming It should be more history at SLU. Summary Garden/Landscape This part is missing, and will be done later. Forestry (S Faculty) Forestry consists of two programs. One is located to Campus Umeå and one in Skinnskatteberg. Forestry (Jägmästare) The number of students that have completed the survey from the Forestry program is 113. This is the second highest number of all programs. Students at this program have a lager general interest in history than the average student at SLU. They are interested in almost all kind of more traditional history, but score a little lower at Political and Economic history. They have a very large interest in Forest history and score quite high on interest in the History of natural resource management and Agrarian history. Most of them think that one should consider a place history before developing it for future use, but students at the forestry program scores slightly lower than the average of other programs on this question. They also score lower on the question if a collage education always should include some historical courses/components. They quite strongly agree that they get better in their future job if they have knowledge about the 18

19 profession s history and most of them want more history linked to their education as well as more general Agrarian and Forest history teaching at SLU. Only 10 percent of the students knew that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU. Thirty- three students, or 29 percent, have answered the open question. Many of them express a desire for more history in the program, mandatory or optional. We have had one excursion in Forest history, and it was the best excursion so far during the education. There is a course in Forest history, but it is only given every second year and all students can t take it. I wish the possibility to study it was bigger! (13.1) one student complain. Students who took the course in Forest history seem to appreciate it: The Forest history course that was optional was really good (13.7). However, not all students can take the course and one is complaining There is only one course in Forest history, but it is only given every second year, and I will not be able to take it. This is very pity since there isn t enough history in the program (13.11). (One student writes that the Forest history course is now given every year, but it is given when other useful courses are given so it is hard to attend (13.32). Some students are critical to the little amount of history in the program Use of natural resource had been in the center of humans activity since day one, therefore it should be obvious that everybody that will work with these questions need more than high school education [in history] (13.10). One student is expressing the same opinion but is harsher to SLU [It is my] opinion that SLU has totally missed a very important part of the basic knowledge that one should have when working with natural recourse use/exploitation. / / [I] think this is very unfortunate since I can see that this knowledge is missing by many in the subject [Forestry] in discussion about natural resources. This part [history] should be part of every course and be thoroughly dealt with from the beginning of the forestry program (13.8). Some student are more satisfied with the amount of history the program have today and suggest that student who wants more could choose optional courses: I think it is a good and right enough part of the forestry program today. [There] is an extra course to choose for those interested (18.20). But there are many students that express that history could be a greater part of their educational program and one student put it short and exclaims, Good what we had received, but too little (13.4). One student is missing Sami history (13.29). Forest Management (Skogsmästare) The number of students that have completed the survey from the Forest management program is 35. Students at this program have a general interest in history just above the average of all students at SLU. They distinguishes in the sense that they have the highest interest in local history of all programs and they have a very high interest in Forest history that could only be compared with the interest in Forest history of the students at the Forestry program. Most of them strongly agree that history gives perspective and context. Most of them think that a collage education should always include some historical courses/components. They score lower than the average SLU student regarding if one should consider the history of a place when developing for future use and on the question that biodiversity, land use and history are connected. They quite strongly agree that they get better in their job if they have knowledge of the profession s history. However, a quite large share of them does not want more 19

20 history in their education. Only six percent of the students know that Agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU. Many students at the Forest management program appreciate that teachers at the program has a personal interest in history. However, with no particular idea how history should be a part of the educational program one student concludes Sometimes in very great detail sometimes nothing at all (16.1). One student is satisfied with the amount of history they have today, but express that it has been perhaps a little too much technic history for my taste (16.2). One student thinks that older history is important and claims that we had too much technic history (60s to 90s) (7.3). One student express that history provides context and argues that history is an Important element to give a comprehensive picture (7.5). Another student complains about how lack of history could be a problem and gives an example where history would have been useful: Too little history at SLU, It is good to have a background to understand the present. We are for example studying the forestry act [skogsvårdslagen], but are not giving any information about its background. There is often a opinion and political decisions that formed the law (7.4). Summary Forestry This part is missing, and will be done later. Discussion The survey has clearly shown that students at SLU have quite a large interest in history in one form or another. There are a few students how thinks history is uninteresting and boring with little connection to their own educational interest, but these students are few and outliers according to this survey. When the students where asked what kind of history they are most interested in many of those with a quite low interest in general history show a large interest in history closely connected to their own education. As an example, students in Animal science that have a lower interest in general history than the average student at SLU show a larger than average interest in History of Veterinary Medicine and History of Domestic animals. Students at forestry programs have a large interest in Forest history, etc. As earlier mentioned many students at SLU are committed to their education. They have chosen to study at SLU because they have a genuine interest in one or several of the subjects taught at the university. This commitment to their studies in general is reflected in their interest in history. History connected to their program is of large interest. However, if they want more history in their curriculum is somewhat another question since more history in their educational program could interfere with courses that they already have. Whether the students want their interest in history to become a part of their educational program vary to some extend depending on the benefit they think they will have of studying it. For many students it is easier to see the connection between history and land use management, than between history and treatment of animals or history of microbiology. It is usually harder for students at the Veterinary Medicine program to see the direct benefit of history than it is for students at the Landscape architecture program. However, as the survey has 20