International Students Studying Undergraduate Education in Sakarya: Expectations And Experiences
Abstract
This study focuses on the motivations of international students to choose Turkey and their daily lives through the example of Sakarya University. According to the data disclosed in the Higher Education information system, Sakarya University is one of the universities with the highest number of international students. Although the reasons why the students interviewed prefer Turkey vary depending on the country they come from, the most influential factors can be listed as follows: quality education, religious freedom, scholarship opportunities, and cultural and geographical proximity. At the same time, the daily life practices and perspectives on undergraduate education in Turkey differ according to their demographic characteristics. All participants stated that the undergraduate education they received in Turkey met their expectations. However, it has been understood that difficulties encountered in social life such as language problems, miscommunication with peers and teachers, verbal, physical or psychological violence caused by anti-immigrant sentiment, and livelihood difficulties caused by the economic crisis negatively affect perceptions of the country. These difficulties negatively affect the decisions of international students to study or study for a postgraduate degree in Turkey. The views on this situation have been examined under the heading of Turkey's position in the future conceptions of international students.
Qualitative methods were used in this research and a phenomenological research design was adopted. The research group consists of 7 international students from different countries studying in different departments. All participants are registered at Sakarya University. The fact that the university is one of the top 10 universities with the highest number of international students has been effective in determining the sample. The participants were reached by snowball sampling technique. The data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. It was analyzed by dividing it into themes and codes using the content analysis method.
In the study in-depth interviews were conducted with 7 international students from different countries studying at Sakarya University. Marches from January 3 Dec 2023 to March 15 Dec 2023 lasted between 40 and 60 minutes. The interviews were conducted between the dates of January and March 2023. 6 Of the interviews were conducted face-to-face and 1 of them was conducted online. 4 Of the participants are men, 3 of them are women. Although there were differences based on gender in the answers, there was no difference in the willingness to participate. All participants came to Turkey through the Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). Participants who initially responded positively and refrained from complaining during interviews later felt comfortable expressing their true thoughts, relying on the impartiality of the researcher. On the reasons for choosing Turkey; While students from Asia and Muslim minority countries emphasized the importance of religious freedom, participants from the Middle East and Africa drew attention to the quality of education, and those from the Middle East and Turkic countries drew attention to cultural and geographical proximity. Although the participants came to Turkey without prejudice, they faced difficulties such as language barriers, incidents of verbal and physical violence, financial problems caused by the economic crisis and exclusion due to anti-immigrant media reports. Their common problem is that the language education they receive at the preparatory stage is insufficient.
The participants showed a high awareness of the Decoupling between skilled migration and irregular migration. They emphasized that they came to Turkey by regular means for educational purposes and drew attention to the rights they have. Perceptions of irregular migrants are divided into two; some see their uncontrolled living in cities and their spread as a vulnerability and violation of the rights of local people, and argue that they should be sent back when the war ends. Others put forward the idea that asylum seekers are here because they have to and that the migration process can contribute to the country if managed correctly. As a result, all participants are of the opinion that they can recommend studying in Turkey to others as well. However, they also expressed the issues that need to be improved, such as lack of equipment, inadequacies in language education, and economic concerns. While the participants identify the areas that need to be improved, they all believe that the advantages of studying in Turkey are more. When the position of Turkey in the future plans is examined, the negative impact of the rising inflation in recent years is clearly seen. In order for the contributions of international students to the country to be sustainable, solutions to these problem areas should be produced.
Keywords
Sakarya'da Lisans Eğitimi Alan Uluslararası Öğrenciler: Beklentiler ve Deneyimler
Öz
Bu araştırma, uluslararası öğrencilerin Türkiye’yi tercih etme motivasyonlarını ve Türkiye’de lisans eğitimine başladıktan sonraki tecrübelerini anlamak amacıyla tasarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın üç temel odağı bulunmaktadır: Öğrencilerin Türkiye’ye gelmeden önceki beklentileri, geldikten sonraki deneyimleri ve Türkiye’nin gelecek tasavvurlarındaki konumu. Bu bağlamda Sakarya Üniversitesi’nde eğitim gören 7 öğrenciyle gerçekleştirilen derinlemesine görüşmeler ile Türkiye’deki toplumsal ve kurumsal faktörlerin uluslararası öğrencilerin gündelik yaşam pratiklerine etkisi ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır. Araştırmada fenomenolojik araştırma deseni benimsenmiştir. Görüşmeler sonucunda ulaşılan veriler betimsel analiz tekniği ile çözümlenerek 4 başlıkta analiz edilmiştir. Bu başlıklar katılımcıların uluslararası öğrencilik deneyimleri, Türkiye’ye göç etme motivasyonları, Türkiye’de lisans eğitimi deneyimleri, lisans eğitimine dair değerlendirmeleri, Türkiye’de günlük yaşam ve gelecek tasavvurlarıdır. Araştırmanın bulgularına göre öğrencilerin Türkiye’yi tercih etmelerindeki temel motivasyon nitelikli eğitim ve din özgürlüğüdür. Öğrenciler Türkiye’de kaldıkları süre boyunca en fazla ekonomik krizlerden ve göçmen karşıtı olaylardan etkilenmektedir. Katılımcılar, düzenli göçmen olduklarını vurgulayarak, sığınmacıların ülkeye uyum sağlamasının göçmen karşıtlığını azaltacağını düşünmektedirler. Katılımcıların tamamı Türkiye'deki eğitimlerinden memnun olsalar da mezun olduktan sonra Türkiye'den ayrılma eğilimindedirler. Bu çalışma, Türkiye'nin küresel eğitim şartlarına uygun politikalar geliştirebilmesine katkıda bulunması açısından önem arz etmektedir.
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