Academic Integration of Kilis 7 Aralık University’s International Students into the Higher Education System

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 1, 86 - 98, 31.03.2023

İbrahim Efe Muhammed Mücahid Dalkılıç , Yusuf Avar

Öz

Understanding international university students’ integration levels and problems contribute to filling a huge vacuum in the research on refugees, which frequently overlooks the experiences of specific groups. Similarly, higher education policies rarely pay attention to or include the perspectives of international students. As a result, by considering the experiences of K7AU’s international students -the majority of whom are refugees- the current study will shed light on the problems they face. This paper presents the findings of a research project (BAP Project: .22.001) intending to evaluate how effectively international students have integrated into Kilis 7 Aralık University (K7AU) and the Turkish higher education system. It also tries to determine the students’ challenges and offer solutions thereunto. Considering the scope of the Council of Higher Education’s internationalization mission and vision, the research aims to establish the academic integration levels of international students studying at K7AU and identify the obstacles they have encountered. A survey devised for this project is used to determine the academic integration levels of the students, and the data has been evaluated using the SPSS program. The study also intends to give various recommendations based on quantitative assessments and relevant findings. Overall, by considering the experiences of international students of the K7AU the study aims to contribute to the improvement of relevant higher education policies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

International students of Kilis 7 Aralık University, Academic integration, Problems, Challenges, Solutions

Kaynakça

• Alkın, R. C. (2020). Dünya’da ve Türkiye’de Uluslararası Öğrencilik Teorik Arka Plan ve Politika Uygulamaları. Vol. 1. 1st ed. Konya: Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi Yayınları.
• Altbach, P. G. & Engberg, D. (2014). “Global Student Mobility: The Changing Landscape.” International Higher Education (77):11–13.
• Altbach, P. G. & Knight, J. (2007). “The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities.” Journal of Studies in International Education 11(3–4):290–305.
• Barın, H. (2015). “Türkiye’deki Suriyeli Kadınların Toplumsal Bağlamda Yaşadıkları Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri.” Göç Araştırmaları Dergisi (2):10–56.
• Birler, Ö. (2012). “Neoliberalization and Foundation Universities in Turkey.” pp. 139–50 in Neoliberal transformation of education in Turkey. Springer.
• Cubillo, J. M., Sánchez, J. & Cerviño, J. (2006). “International Students’ Decision-Making Process.” International Journal of Educational Management.
• Çakır, H. (2017). “Suriyeli Mülteci Kadınların Sosyo-Kültürel Değişime Uyum Çabaları: Yozgat Örneği.” Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 2 (4):53–68.
• Çetinsaya, G. (2014). Büyüme, Kalite, Uluslararasılaşma: Türkiye Yükseköğretimi İçin Bir Yol Haritası. Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Basımevi.
• Efe, İ. & Özer, Ö. (2022). “Understanding the Internationalization of Turkish Higher Education through Discourse Analysis.” Journal of Studies in International Education 10283153221093118.
• Erdogan, A. & Erdoğan, M. M. (2020). “Syrian University Students in Turkish Higher Education: Immediate Vulnerabilities, Future Challenges for the European Higher Education Area.” European Higher Education Area 229.
• Ergin, H. & de Wit, H. (2020). “Integration Policy for Syrian Refugees’ Access to Turkish Higher Education: Inclusive Enough?” pp. 121–30 in European higher education area: Challenges for a new decade. Springer, Cham.
• Ergun, A. & Kondakçı, Y. (2021). “The Internationalisation of Higher Education and Identity Construction in Azerbaijan.” Europe-Asia Studies 73 (7):1330–54.
• Günay, D. (2011). “Türk Yükseköğretiminin Yeniden Yapılandırılması Bağlamında Sorunlar, Eğilimler, Ilkeler ve Öneriler-I.” Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi (3):113–21.
• Harris, R., McNamara, D. & Mcnamara, D. (2002). Overseas Students in Higher Education: Issues in Teaching and Learning. Routledge.
• Hohberger, W. (2018). Opportunities in Higher Education for Syrians in Turkey: The Perspective of Syrian University Students on the Educational Conditions, Needs and Possible Solutions for Improvement. Istanbul Policy Center Istanbul.
• Hudson, R. (2016). “Dominated by Economics? Evidence of Changing Drivers of Internationalization and Its Funding within Higher Education Institutions in Europe.” Higher Education Policy 29 (1):1–19.
• İnal, K. & Akkaymak, G. (2012). Neoliberal Transformation of Education in Turkey: Political and Ideological Analysis of Educational Reforms in the Age of the AKP. Springer.
• Kell, P. M. & Vogl, G. (2012). International Students in the Asia Pacific: Mobility, Risks and Global Optimism. Springer.
• Knight, J. (2004). “Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales.” Journal of Studies in International Education 8 (1):5–31.
• OECD (2021). Education at a Glance at Indicators 2021. Paris: OECD Publishing.
• Özkan, F. (2020). İlahiyat Fakültelerinde Eğitim Gören Uluslararası Öğrencilerin Memnuniyet Düzeyleri. Efe Akademi.
• Özoǧlu, M., Gür, B. S. & Gümüş, S. (2016). “Rapid Expansion of Higher Education in Turkey: The Challenges of Recently Established Public Universities (2006–2013).” Higher Education Policy 29 (1):21–39.
• Schofer, E. & Meyer, J. W. (2005). “The Worldwide Expansion of Higher Education in the Twentieth Century.” American Sociological Review 70 (6):898–920.
• Şeremet, M. (2015). “Türkiye ve İngiltere Yükseköğretimindeki Uluslararasılaşma Politikalarına Karşılaştırmalı Bir Yaklaşım.” Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi (1):27–31.
• Varghese, N. V. (2008). Globalization of Higher Education and Cross-Border Student Mobility. Citeseer.
• Yardım, M., Kahraman Ü. M. & Alkın, R. C. (2018). Luslararası Öğrencilerin Üniversite ve Kent Hayatına Uyumları. Vol. 1. Konya: Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi Kültür Yayınları: 40.