Students' views on forestry education: A cross-national comparison across three universities in Brazil, China and Finland

Our cross-national study examined the views of forestry students from Brazil, China and Finland on the highly debated issue of forestry education. Altogether, views from 584 Bachelor students from three programmes in the three countries were collected. Students' perceptions of importance of subject-specific and generic competencies and experiences, preferred area of work, and willingness to do a Master's degree were asked through a questionnaire in the respective national language. Quantitative analyses included comparisons across universities and study years, as well as influence of gender, grades, and satisfaction. Great similarities across the countries regarding the students' views on subject-specific competencies and experiences, as well as on the preferred areas of work were found. The students highly valued field experiences as well as areas such as environmental protection. Upon graduation a majority wished to work in the management of public forests, followed by industries in the case of Brazil and Finland and research in the case of China. Changes across the study years, such as the increasing importance given to oral and writing skills by students of later years, were observed. These and other results and their implications are discussed in consideration of cultural, curricular and institutional factors. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.