Urban Preference of Higher Education Migrants in the Context of Network and Social Capital

Year 2023, Volume: 11 Issue: 3, 589 - 604, 29.09.2023

Eda Koçak , Demet Erol

Abstract

The mass relocation of societies for different reasons has continued throughout human history, but it was only in the late 18th century that it attracted the attention of theorists and became theoretically grounded. Migration dynamics in this period were mostly based on labor force and the reasons were explained by rural and urban dynamics. However, the fact that societies leave the lands they are accustomed to not only for a better life but also for very different reasons has become the biggest problem of recent years.
The main interest of the literature is not where migration starts but where it ends. Cities have become the geography of those who relocate for different reasons. However, the main task of city administrators is to predict who will live where with long term or short term plans. At the same time, ensuring that everyone living in urban areas has access to all services under equal conditions is among their basic duties and a fundamental right for all urban dwellers.
In recent years, the political conflict in Middle Eastern countries has begun to affect other countries as well. The chaos in the Middle East countries has also affected other countries. Starting in 2011, mass displacement has also pushed international borders.
The geography of this chaos, which is an important part of international politics, has been "cities". In Turkey, especially Southeastern Anatolian cities have suddenly faced migration flows far exceeding their capacity.
This article, which describes the networks that form the ties between migration and cities with a geography, consists of four main sections. The first part is about literature selection. The triad of migration, social network and social capital is associated with higher education. The second part is the method section, which explains the framework on which the sample selection of the study is based, the data collection tools and the techniques used in data analysis. The third section presents the findings on the demographic structure, migration processes, social capital and networks, and university preference processes of Syrian students in Siirt. Finally, in the conclusion section of the study, in the light of the findings obtained as a result of the study, the migration processes of the students are transformed into migration models and the effects of the changing social networks and capitals on university preferences are discussed.
Within the scope of this research, a survey was conducted among 120 Syrian students studying at Siirt University. The questions in the questionnaire include questions to reveal the social networks and capitals of the students, as well as questions about the processes of migration and university preferences. In this way, the effect of the social networks and capital of the surveyed students on their migration patterns and migration models were revealed and their relationship with their university preferences was constructed.

Keywords

Social Network, Social Capital, Migration Patterns, Syrian Students

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