Abstract
This study assesses the knowledge, practices, and attitudes toward criminal justice education among criminology students at Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) and its impact on their academic satisfaction and professional conduct. Key research questions include evaluating students' knowledge, practices, attitudes, professional conduct, and academic satisfaction, and examining the effect of gender on these aspects. A non-experimental, descriptive-predictive research design was used, with stratified random sampling to select 30 criminology students (25 males, 5 females) for the academic year 2022-2023. Data collection involved a researcher-developed questionnaire validated through reliability testing. Results showed high agreement among students regarding their criminal justice education quality. The mean scores for knowledge (4.85), practices (4.73), and attitudes (4.56) indicated a strong consensus on the program's effectiveness. Professional conduct and academic satisfaction also received high mean scores of 4.82 and 5.00, respectively. Gender analysis revealed no significant differences, supporting the hypothesis that quality education positively impacts students' knowledge, practices, and attitudes toward criminal justice education. The study concludes that WMSU's criminology students strongly agree on the effectiveness of their education in terms of knowledge, practices, attitudes, professional conduct, and academic satisfaction. Recommendations include further research, continuous adherence to professional conduct, and addressing gender-based stereotypes within the program. Faculty and administrators are encouraged to monitor and support criminology students' academic and professional development to sustain high educational standards.
