Exploring the relationships between life satisfaction and administrative, cultural, social and academic experiences of foreign students studying in Turkey

Session Information

22 SES 06 A, Inequality and Diversity in Higher Education Settings

Paper Session

Time:
2010-08-26
10:30-12:00
Room:
M.B. SALI 14, Päärakennus / Main Building
Chair:
Elinor Edvardsson Stiwne

Contribution

Different rationales of internationalization in higher education have motivated countries and higher education organizations to reconsider their structural and functional characteristics. Knight (1999) documented academic, political, social and cultural rationales of internationalization in higher education at system, organization, and individual levels. Several scholars discussed the implications of the issue at system level (e.g., Enders, 2004; Teichler, 2004a; van der Wende, 2001). These studies defined concept of internationalization, differentiated it from related concepts (e.g., globalization) and depicted the evolution of the concept in the last two decades. Other stream of studies focused on depicting the implications of internationalization on countries’ higher education systems (e.g., Horie, 2002; Huang, 2006; Mizikaci, 2005). Studies that focused on organizational level documented the implications of internationalization on structural-functional characteristics of higher education organizations (e.g., Kondakci & Van den Broeck, 2009; Parsons & Fidler, 2005; Poole, 2001; Stromquist, 2007). However, as Enders (2004) stated "the concern with macro level policy-making and meso level organizational adaptation, neglecting to some extend the micro dynamics and effects in the actual practices and performances of academic work" (p.361). One of the micro-level concerns is related to the experiences of foreign students. Previous research on individual-level of the phenomenon focused on the dynamics global student mobility. It can be argued that accomplishing many rationales of internationalization (i.e., academic, social, cultural, economic) is closely related to the successful adaptation process of foreign students in the host country. However, social, academic, cultural, administrative dynamics behind adaptation and satisfaction of foreign students in host countries remained relatively uninvestigated. This study, on the one hand, holds a holistic approach to investigate the social, academic, cultural and academic experiences of foreign students, and attempts to investigate relations among these dimensions, on the other. Based on this general description, the purpose of this study is to explore causal relationships among a set of variables pertaining to foreign students lives in the host country. A model with four factors and two measured variables was developed. The first factor was labeled as the “experiences of students in administrative processes.” Perception of student services and managerial responsiveness to foreign students’ needs are defined as two variables pertaining to administrative experiences. The second factor was labeled as “academic experiences.” In this factor academic content, education system compatibility, academic language skills, and academic participation are variables investigated. The third factor was labeled as “social interaction.” In this factor barriers to social interaction, openness of local students for social interaction and international diversity are the variables investigated. Finally, perception of host culture and life satisfaction were entered into the model as measured variables.

Method

This study is based on data collected as part of a larger project investigating social, cultural, academic and administrative experiences of foreign students in Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 331 (210 male and 121 Female).The participants of this study came from 55 different countries but the majority of the students came from ex-Soviet Turkic republics (40%) and the Balkan countries (19%). A self-report Likert type questionnaire covering items on administrative, academic, social and cultural experiences of foreign students was developed and administered. In order to measure life satisfaction previously developed, satisfaction with life scale (Diener, et al., 1985) was administered. Structural Equation Modeling was conducted in order to test causal relationships among the variables in the model.

Expected Outcomes

There are several analyses on satisfaction of foreign students. Different from previous analyses, this study aims to find out causal relationships among variables leading to satisfaction with life. In other words, this study is expected to find out causal relationships between life satisfaction of foreign students and their administrative, academic, social, and cultural experiences. Administrative experiences refer to the student services and administrative responses to students’ needs. These are basic to academic, social, cultural experiences, because the students need to find a settlement and learn basic aspects of daily life (e.g., having a bank account, learn how and where to use communication services, shopping etc.) before adapting to social and academic life in the host country. Social interaction with local students, international diversity (e.g., a critical mass of foreign students), and adequate level of local language skills are essential for positive social experiences and consequently for life satisfaction in the host country. Academic rationale is at the core of study abroad experience. Parallel to the literature, in this study international content, compatibility between home and host counties’ education systems, active involvement in in-class teaching-learning practices, and adequate language skills are expected to be related to life satisfaction of foreign students.

References

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. Enders, J. (2004). Higher education, internationalization, and the nation-state: Recent developments and challenges to governance theory. Higher Education, 47, 361-382. Horie, M. (2002). The internationalization of higher education in Japan in the 1990s: A reconsideration. Higher Education, 43, 65-84. Huang, F. (2006). Internationalization of curricula in higher education institutions in coparative perspectives: Case studies of China, Japan, and The Netherlands. Higher Education, 51, 521-539. Kondakci, Y., & Van den Broeck, H. (2009). Institutional imperatives versus emergent dynamics: A case study on continuous change in higher education. Higher Education, 58(4), 439-464. Mizikaci, F. (2005). Prospects for European integration: Turkish Higher Education. Higher Education in Europe, 30(1), 67-79. Parsons, C., & Fidler, B. (2005). A new theory of educational change-punctuated equilibrium: The case of the internationalization of higher education institutions. British Journal of Educational Studies, 53(4), 447-465. Poole, D. (2001). Moving towards professionalism: The strategic management of international education activities at Australian universities and their faculties of business. Higher Education, 42, 395-435. Stromquist, N. P. (2007). Internationalization as a response to globalization: Radical shifts in university environments. Higher Education, 53, 81-105. Teichler, U. (2004a). The changing debate on internationalization of higher education. Higher Education, 48(1), 5-26. van der Wende, M. (2001). The international dimension in national higher education policies: what was changed in Europe in the last five years? European Journal of Education, 36(4), 431-441.

Author Information

Middle East Technical University
Department of Educational Sciences
Ankara
Akdeniz University, Turkey
Middle East Technical University, Turkey

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