Yes…There Are Great Careers in Food Retail! Using Pre-recorded Interviews to Showcase Career Pathways and Increase Student Engagement

Despite the economic importance of the food retailing industry, the literature suggests that food retailers face a major talent recruitment challenge mostly stemming from the negative perceptions of the industry. Therefore, it is crucial that higher education food and agribusiness programs help students better understand and appreciate potential career opportunities and professional career paths. This research develops a teaching innovation that enhances student engagement in asynchronous online learning and explores how such an innovative pedagogy relates to students’ attitudes toward careers in food retailing, with relevance extending across educational formats and disciplines. Through an exploratory quasi-experiment, it is illustrated that innovative pedagogy in online learning may make a difference with respect to attracting students to food retailing careers. The outcomes included more positive attitudes toward a career in food retailing and higher interest levels among the students who were exposed to the teaching innovation compared to students in the control group.