Session Information
Contribution
Adolescence is a critical period of development during which individuals experience crucial changes in their social lives. Transition to adulthood in late adolescence is marked by an expansion in the social environments. There are several developmental tasks to be accomplished by the late adolescents during this transition in order to achieve adulthood and healthy psychological and social functioning at the same time. A significant dimension in this developmental stage is the ability to adapt to a new environment. This ability includes the processes of how the late adolescents effective integrate themselves to a new culture, how they become efficient members of this new culture, and how they make sense of the elements in the new culture. Uncovering the ability of adaptation, this study basically aims at describing what sorts of experiences that exchange students, who are at their late adolescence period, have while they pursue their academic works abroad. The main goal is to portray how the exchange students at two universities in Turkey integrate themselves to the academic culture and at the same to the student and social cultures in two cities in Turkey.
Method
The data for the study were gathered from two main sources: (a) focus groups and (b) the exchange students' notes on their adaptation. Regular focus group meetings were held once a week between September 2008 and January 2009 with the exchange students in Ankara, and the regular focus group meetings starting in December 2009 with the exchange students in Canakkale, Turkey. The exchange students were also asked to keep notes on their adaptation process, and then to share their notes at the meetings.
Expected Outcomes
The preliminary findings showed that the adaptation to a new culture was similar to the adaptation to one's own culture. It specifically required one to modify his or her adaptation skills to the elements of the new culture, which might involve the clashing characteristics between his or her own culture and the new culture. A good illustration of this is the female exchange students' trouble with staring at men, which was regarded as a signal for flirtation in Turkey.
References
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books. Tomasello, M. (1999). The human adaptation for culture. Annual Review of Anthropology, 28, 509-529.
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