Undergraduate Architecture Students’ Perceptions of the Reasons for Their Choice(s) of Profession

Year 2021, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 752 - 770, 01.07.2021

Derya Yorgancıoğlu Sevinc Tunali Meltem Çetinel

https://doi.org/10.18039/ajesi.881471

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the factors, driven by intrinsic and/or extrinsic motivations, that affect the students’ choice(s) of profession before entering the school of architecture and to reveal how the participants’ perceptions of their “self-efficacy” about becoming an architect altered in parallel to the skills they acquire during their professional education. The research, based on the qualitative research methodology, is undertaken in a Bachelor of Architecture degree program in a private university in Istanbul and the data was collected through the participation of 40 undergraduate architecture students from different class levels. The data collection procedures covered four recorded focus group interviews with students at different class levels and the interview transcriptions were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The results regarding the reasons for studying architecture has revealed that the participants are influenced by (1) their self-perceptions, which overlap with the profession-related qualities and (2) the influence of their social environment and families. It is shown that the professional education that the participants have received has improved their design skills and supported their self-efficacy beliefs in this regard, but made them feel insufficient about technical-practical skills. The research findings have implications for the students who think to study architecture, the secondary education teachers, and the administrators and instructors of schools of architecture for various reasons: by uncovering the interrelated dynamics and requirements of the architectural profession and education, these findings may guide the attempts to choose a profession compatible with individuals’ capabilities and orientations and to structure a balanced architectural curriculum.

Keywords

architectural education, architectural profession, design skill, profession choice, self-efficacy perception

Supporting Institution

Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu (TÜBİTAK), 3501-Kariyer Geliştirme Programı

Project Number

215K234

Thanks

Special thanks to the faculty and students in the Department of Architecture at Istanbul Kemerburgaz University (Altınbaş University), for their participation in the research.

Mimarlık Lisans Öğrencilerinin Meslek Seçimlerinin Nedenlerine İlişkin Algıları

Abstract

Bu çalışma, öğrencilerin yükseköğretim düzeyinde mimarlık eğitimi almaya başlamadan önce meslek seçimlerine ilişkin kararlarını etkileyen içsel ve/veya dışsal motivasyonların yönlendirdiği faktörleri analiz etmeyi ve katılımcıların mimar olma konusundaki “öz-yeterlik” algılarının aldıkları mimarlık eğitimine ve edindikleri mesleki becerilere göre nasıl değiştiğini ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Nitel araştırma yöntemine dayanan araştırma, İstanbul’da bulunan bir vakıf üniversitesi bünyesindeki Mimarlık Lisans programında 40 lisans öğrencisinin katılımıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Farklı sınıf düzeylerindeki öğrenci gruplarıyla ayrı ayrı gerçekleştirilen dört adet odak grup toplantısının ses kaydı alınarak görüşmeler metinleştirilmiş ve bu metinlerin nitel içerik analizi yöntemiyle analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada katılımcıların mimarlık eğitimi almayı tercih etmelerine ilişkin sonuçlar, katılımcıların (1) mesleğin nitelikleriyle örtüşen öz-algılarının ve (2) sosyal çevrelerinin ve ailelerinin yönlendirmelerinin etkili olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Katılımcıların aldıkları mimarlık eğitiminin tasarım becerilerini geliştirdiği ve bu konuda öz-yeterlik inançlarını desteklediği, ancak teknik-pratik beceriler konusunda kendilerini yeterince yetkin hissetmedikleri gösterilmiştir. Araştırma bulgularının çeşitli nedenlerle mimarlık eğitimi almayı düşünen öğrenciler, orta öğretim öğretmenleri ve mimarlık okullarının yöneticileri ve eğitmenleri için çıkarımları bulunmaktadır: Bulgular mimarlık mesleği ve eğitiminin birbiriyle ilişkili dinamiklerini ve gereksinimlerini ortaya çıkararak bireylerin yeteneklerine ve yönelimlerine uygun meslek seçmeye ve dengeli bir mimarlık müfredatı oluşturmaya katkı sağlayabilir.

Keywords

mimarlık eğitimi, mimarlık mesleği, tasarım becerisi, meslek tercihi, öz-yeterlilik algısı

Project Number

215K234

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