Students' Attitudes Towards the Department of Art Education, College of Basic Education

Abstract

This research examined the attitudes of university students towards the Fine Arts department. Previous studies have confirmed that individuals typically behave in accordance with their attitudes and beliefs. Negative attitudes can adversely influence individuals' situations and behaviours, whereas positive attitudes can lead to favourableoutcomes. A total of 221 students from seven different departments participated in this study.  The current study aimed to determine the level of attitudes towards the Fine Arts department among students. Additionally, it aimed to examine whether there are statistically significant differences in student’s attitudes based on their academic specializations (Humanities versus Sciences) and gender (male and female). A questionnaire for measuring attitude was prepared by the researcher, and psychometric properties such as validity and reliability were extracted. The study reported a satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha of 0.81 and a split-half reliability coefficient of 0.76. Normality of the data was checked using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and no deviations from normality were detected (p-value for the Kolmogorov test > 0.05). Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations), one-sample t-test, and independent sample t-test were used for the data analyses.  The results revealed that students possess a high level of positive attitudes toward the Fine Arts department.Furthermore, a statistically significant gender difference was found in attitude, indicating that male students exhibit more favourable attitudes toward the Fine Arts department than their female counterparts. Conversely, the results showed no statistically significant difference in attitude based on students’ specialties.