Global Research in Higher Education ISSN 2576-196X (Print) ISSN 2576-1951 (Online) Vol. 8, No. 3, 2025 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe 83 Original Paper Research on Cultivating Agricultural Sentiment among University Students in Agricultural Colleges from the Perspective of Practical Skill Development—A Study Based on Questionnaire Survey and Counselor Perspectives at Qingdao Agricultural University Meixiu Li 1 , Lin Qi 1 & Yao Song 2* 1 College of Animation and Media, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China 2 College of Science and Information Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China Received: November 10, 2025 Accepted: November 21, 2025 Online Published: December 1, 2025 doi:10.22158/grhe.v8n3p83 URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/grhe.v8n3p83 Abstract Against the backdrop of comprehensively advancing rural revitalization and accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, counselors in agricultural colleges shoulder the crucial responsibilities of ideological guidance and practical education. This paper adopts the counselor’s work perspective and uses practical skill development as a starting point. Through a questionnaire survey of 669 students at Qingdao Agricultural University, it analyzes the current status and practical challenges of cultivating students’ sentiment of “knowing, loving, and promoting agriculture” from three dimensions: agricultural cognition, labor experience, and curriculum practice. The findings reveal that while students generally have a basic interest in agriculture, their understanding is shallow; labor practice can effectively strengthen emotional identification, yet the existing practice system suffers from weak integration with students’ majors, monotonous formats, and insufficient depth of student participation. Based on the survey results and the nine core responsibilities of counselors, this paper proposes a three-dimensional “thought-practice-mechanism” pathway for sentiment cultivation, covering ideological value guidance, practice platform construction, integration of academic atmosphere and practice, and career planning guidance. The proposed pathway aims to enhance the effectiveness of ideological and political work in agricultural colleges and provide grassroots references for serving the rural revitalization strategy. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe Global Research in Higher Education Vol. 8, No. 3, 2025 84 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Keywords agricultural colleges, knowing-loving-promoting agriculture, practical skills, sentiment cultivation, counselor responsibilities, ideological-political work 1. Introduction As the grassroots backbone of ideological and political work in agricultural colleges, counselors directly undertake the mission of moral education and talent cultivation for agriculture. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “deeply nurture love for agriculture and master the skills to promote it”, which points the direction for counselors’ ideological education and value guidance. In practice, we find that sentiment cultivation still relies heavily on courses and policy briefings, with weak student agency and insufficient depth of practical participation, limiting the effectiveness of “knowing-loving-promoting agriculture” education. This paper, grounded in counselors’ daily work, uses questionnaire surveys and empirical analysis to explore a new cultivation pathway that uses practical skills as a vehicle, aiming to integrate ideological work more closely with students’ growth needs and improve the systematicity, affinity, and relevance of education. 2. Research Design and Methods As an essential part of student work, this investigation was conducted through the counselors’ work platform. Questionnaires were distributed to all 17 colleges of the university, collecting 669 responses with a 100% effective recovery rate. The sample covers diverse genders, grades, and hometowns, with third-year students constituting the majority (71.75%) and rural students accounting for 64.87%. The questionnaire closely aligns with the dimensions that counselors focus on daily-academic development, practice participation, and career intentions-systematically examining students’ basic status in agricultural cognition, labor experience, and curriculum practice, thereby providing data support for targeted guidance and precise ideological work. 3. Survey Results and Analysis of Student Work Realities 3.1 Agricultural Cognition Is Foundational, but Value Guidance Needs Deepening The survey shows that 66.21% of students were interested in agriculture before enrollment, and 75.02% have a basic understanding of professional employment. However, nearly half of the respondents have limited knowledge of national rural revitalization policies, leaving conceptual gaps. Counselors should fulfill their responsibilities for ideological theory education and value guidance by using thematic class meetings, policy briefings, and exemplary role models to clarify the contemporary significance of “agriculture as the foundation of the nation”, thereby strengthening students’ conscious awareness of learning and understanding agriculture. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe Global Research in Higher Education Vol. 8, No. 3, 2025 85 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 3.2 Labor Practice Enjoys Enthusiasm, yet Organization and Guidance Require Reinforcement After participating in labor practice, 86.50% of students recognized the hardships of agriculture, and 66.37% expressed willingness to work in agriculture-related fields, indicating a solid foundation for practice-based education. Nevertheless, the design of practice activities is not tightly linked to students’ majors, which hampers depth of participation and sense of gain. Counselors should enhance the organization of second-classroom activities, shifting labor education from “experience-oriented” to “empowerment-oriented”, and develop “one institute, one product” practice projects that align with professional characteristics, thereby improving the professional relevance and educational effectiveness of practice. 3.3 Curriculum Practice Provides a Platform, but Resource Integration and Mechanism Guarantees Are Insufficient Students commonly report a shortage of practice resources, monotonous formats, and weak connections to their majors. As supporters of student growth, counselors should actively participate in academic atmosphere building and coordinated practice teaching, promoting the establishment of a “student-teacher-society” three-party collaborative practice resource platform, assisting in the expansion of off-campus practice bases, and enhancing the real-world capacity and student engagement of agricultural practice. 4. Recommendations for Sentiment-Cultivation Pathways Based on Counselor Responsibilities Based on the research findings and integrating the nine core responsibilities of instructors, the following working path is proposed to strengthen the student-centered approach, with the dual goals of providing ideological guidance and practical empowerment. 4.1 Strengthen Ideological Guidance to Solidify the Belief Foundation of “Knowing Agriculture” Leverage responsibilities for ideological theory education and value guidance to embed “three-rural” values into daily ideological-political work. Organize activities such as “Rural Revitalization Lecture Hall” and “Agricultural Science Role-Model Face-to-Face” to tell agricultural stories and disseminate agricultural values; combine Party-League day events with themes like “I Represent My Hometown” to foster emotional identification and rational cognition of agriculture. 4.2 Build Practice Platforms to Ignite Intrinsic “Love For Agriculture” Based on responsibilities for social practice, campus culture construction, and online ideological work, create a diversified and optional practice system. Establish “class practice commissioners” to encourage student-initiated agricultural practice projects; support student clubs in launching “Technology Mini-Yard Relay” and “One Village, One Product Assistance” projects, thereby strengthening students’ agency and organizational capacity in practice. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe Global Research in Higher Education Vol. 8, No. 3, 2025 86 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 4.3 Deepen Career Counseling to Guide “Promoting Agriculture” Career Choices Implement career planning and employment guidance duties through a “Agricultural Career Awakening Program”, integrating knowledge of agriculture with professional development. Organize visits to agricultural enterprises, alumni sharing sessions, and interpretations of grassroots employment policies to boost students’ confidence in agricultural career prospects; set up “Agriculture-Promotion Employment Classes” to track and nurture students inclined to serve the grassroots, providing targeted resources. 4.4 Perfect Incentive Mechanisms to Shape a Growth Atmosphere of “Responsibility for Agriculture” Combine comprehensive student evaluation and scholarship management duties to reform assessment methods, increasing the weight of practice performance and participation in agricultural projects in awards and honors. Establish special recognitions such as “Model of Knowing and Loving Agriculture” and “Rural Revitalization Practice Scholarship” to enhance students’ sense of achievement and belonging, cultivating a campus culture of “learning agriculture for agriculture, strengthening agriculture with my contribution”. 4.5 Strengthening Psychological Support and Team Collaboration to Build a Robust Educational Community Leverage the educational functions of mental health education and team collaboration to monitor students’ psychological well-being during agricultural studies and practices, providing necessary psychological adjustment and developmental guidance. Enhance cooperation with professional teachers, entrepreneurship colleges, and social service offices to construct a “counselor-professional teacher-social mentor” tripartite collaborative educational network, jointly supporting students’ comprehensive growth on the paths of knowing, loving, and promoting agriculture. 5. Conclusion Counselors in agricultural colleges stand at the forefront of ideological education and act as guides and companions for students becoming talents who know, love, and promote agriculture. Facing the new requirements of agricultural talent cultivation in the new era, counselors must proactively integrate their duties into the entire process of students’ practical ability and sentiment cultivation, upgrading ideological-political work from a “management-type” to an “empowerment-type”. By constructing an educational ecosystem that places students at the center, uses practice as the pathway, and relies on mechanisms for guarantee, we can truly lead students to forge their youth on the fertile soil of the countryside, realize value on the road of revitalization, and continuously supply youthful strength for building a strong agricultural nation. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe Global Research in Higher Education Vol. 8, No. 3, 2025 87 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Acknowledgement This work was supported by the Research Project on Ideological and Political Education at Qingdao Agricultural University. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.