Comparison of the personal and cultural change taking place between EU Erasmus students and Turkish Erasmus students (within the sample of Adam Mickiewicz University in city of Poznan, Poland)

Abstract

This study is based on a questionnaire that is implemented to measure and evaluate the cultural and personal changes experienced by Turkish students and Adam Mickiewicz University students who receive education within the framework of the Erasmus Student Exchange Program in the city of Poznan, Poland. Our objective was to make a comparison of the personal and cultural change taking place between European Union (EU) students and Turkish students throughout Erasmus Student Exchange Program. The subjects of this research included EU member students from Adam Mickiewicz University and Turkish Erasmus students. A total of 257 Erasmus students were included. With 102 randomly selected students, face-to-face interviews have been conducted. As this was a comparative study, data has been categorized under two titles: Turkish Students and Students of European Union member countries. Frequency values of obtained data have been detected and the comparison of each group has been descriptively made over these values. Our research findings validate that throughout the Erasmus program certain personal changes occurred among students from the EU countries and from Turkey. Although Turkish students experienced many individual changes during the Erasmus Program, this present study determined that the state of belonging to religion, nation and country is top priority in the minds of Turkish students. Our data has shown that this state of belonging observable in Turkish students was not so intense in EU students.

Keywords

• Cultural change,prejudice,Erasmus exchange program,EU,Turkey

References

1. Brock, C., Tulasiewicz, W. (1999) Education in single Europe. (2nd Ed.) New York: Routledge, p 9−15.