Career aspirations of agricultural diploma students in Maharashtra

Introduction

Career aspirations form a cornerstone of students' educational engagement, occupational choices, and longterm professional trajectories. They shape perceptions of opportunities, goal-setting, and investments in skill development and career planning (Quaglia, 1989; Patton & Creed, 2007) [11,10] . Diploma-level agriculture education occupies a distinct niche in the agricultural training ecosystem. Unlike undergraduate or postgraduate programs, these courses emphasize practical skills to equip students for grassroots roles such as field assistants, extension facilitators, input dealers, progressive farmers, or agripreneurs. Most diploma students hail from rural backgrounds, with aspirations molded by socioeconomic factors, family pressures, job security, and institutional exposures (Dhakre, 2014; Gaikwad, 2011) [3,4] . Empirical observations reveal students often favor stable income and security, though some align pursuits with personal passions and visions (McGlynn, 2007) [8] . O'Brien (1996) [9] frames career aspiration as a multidimensional construct encompassing educational, achievement, and leadership dimensions. Educational aspirations denote desires for advanced learning and lifelong skill enhancement. Achievement aspirations reflect drives for professional excellence, recognition, and impact. Leadership aspirations signal readiness to lead, manage teams, and steer organizational or sectoral change. This framework has proven effective in studies of agricultural students (Gregor & O'Brien, 2016; Arunachalam et al, 2020) [5,9,2] . Among diploma and undergraduate cohorts, educational aspirations skew moderate, prioritizing shortterm training and public-sector roles over advanced degrees (Jyothi, 2012; Kavitha, 2018) [6,7] . These trends underscore the necessity of isolating diploma students' aspirations from broader graduate data. Although diploma agriculture programs are vital, few studies have probed their students' career aspirations through validated instruments. Such insights are crucial for curriculum design, counseling, and policies bolstering agricultural talent pipelines. Accordingly, this study investigates diploma agriculture students' career aspirations across O'Brien's (1996) [9] educational, achievement, and leadership domains, offering evidence-based guidance for educators, administrators, and policymakers.

Objective

To study the career aspirations of diploma agricultural students www.extensionjournal.com

Methodology

The "Ex-post-facto" research design was used for the study. This "Ex-post-facto" design was considered appropriate because the phenomenon has already occurred. It is the most systematic empirical study in which the researcher does not have direct control over dependent variables because their manifestations have already occurred. The study was conducted in the jurisdiction of State Agricultural Universities of Maharashtra namely; Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri. The present study was conducted to analyse the career aspirations of diploma agriculture students with respect to educational, achievement, and leadership dimensions. A descriptive research design was employed to capture the perceptions and aspirations of the students in a structured manner. Career aspiration. The original CAS was an 8-item scale to assess career aspiration (including educational and leadership aspirations; O'Brien, 1996) [9] . Items on the original measure were rated on 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at all true of me) to 5 (very true of me). A total of 123 diploma agriculture students were selected as respondents for the study. The data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire designed to measure career aspirations on different scales. The instrument included statements categorized under three key areas: 1. Educational Aspirations: Items relating to higher studies, training, and continuous learning.

Achievement

Aspirations: Items concerning recognition, excellence, and professional success.

Leadership Aspirations: Items measuring leadership

roles, responsibilities, and management preferences.

The responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale ranging from "Not at all true of me" to "Very true of me."

The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and per centages, to understand the trends and priorities among the respondents. Garrett's method of ranking was used in order to measure the career preferences for the students.

Where, Rij = Rank given for the i th variable by j th respondents Nj = Number of variables ranked by j th respondents

Results

The career aspirations were measured across 3 different dimensions. They are educational, achievement and leadership aspirations. The data about overall aspirations of the graduate students are presented in table 1 The career aspirations of the respondents were summarized in Table 1, which indicated that most diploma students in agriculture exhibited high levels of motivation.

Educational Aspirations

The majority of students demonstrated high educational ambitions. Nearly 79.67% planned to achieve the highest level of education in their field and the same proportion pursued additional training relevant to their career interests. A 78.05% consistently kept themselves updated with recent developments in their area of study, while 76.42% made efforts to stay current in their profession. About 75.61% attended conferences each year to enhance their knowledge base. Even when not compulsory, 70.73% chose to participate in continuing education courses for deeper understanding. Additionally, 64.23% explored advanced programs to gain specialized expertise and 59.35% prioritized continuing education annually to further their professional development.

Achievement Aspirations

Students also exhibited strong aspirations for achievement in their careers. Around 71.54% hoped to be among the best in their field, while 58.54% aimed to leave a lasting impact on their profession. Recognition was equally valued, with 59.35% desiring employer acknowledgment for their contributions and 55.28% believing they would be recognized for their accomplishments. Over half, 54.47%, considered outstanding performance at work very important and the same percentage aspired to receive several promotions during their careers. A significant 81.30% rejected the notion that career success was unimportant, affirming the value they attached to achievement. Interestingly, although some responses suggested mixed views, 78.05% expressed a strong desire to excel in their field.

Leadership Aspirations

Leadership goals were also prominent among the students. A large majority, 89.43%, aspired to become leaders in their respective areas. Despite this, 53.66% admitted that initially, they had not focused on securing promotional leadership roles, though 40.65% showed openness to such opportunities. Still, 82.93% disagreed with the idea that becoming a leader was unimportant, demonstrating their keen interest in leadership. Approximately 69.92% expressed a desire to manage employees as they gained experience, while 62.60% wished to take responsibility for guiding the future direction of their organizations. Similarly, 81.30% rejected the belief that achieving leadership status was insignificant. More than half, 50.41%, aspired to advance into leadership positions and 43.09% specifically aimed for top leadership roles within their profession.

Conclusion

The study concludes that diploma agriculture students exhibit medium to high levels of career aspiration, with stronger achievement aspirations compared to educational and leadership aspirations. Most students aspire for stable employment, particularly in government and allied agricultural sectors, while fewer students show interest in leadership or higher academic pursuits. The findings highlight the need for career counseling, entrepreneurship development programs, and leadership training tailored specifically for diploma agriculture students. Strengthening institutional support and exposure to diverse career opportunities can help enhance students' confidence and aspiration levels, enabling them to contribute effectively to agricultural development.

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