Experiences of Turkish University Students on Academic Mobility: Before and after Academic Mobility Factors

Abstract

Student academic mobility is described as the movement of students from one country to another for studying undergraduate and/or graduate degrees. Students' academic mobility involves two factors: before academic mobility factors and after academic mobility factors. The current study aims at identifying the perceptions of Turkish university students regarding before academic mobility and after academic mobility factors. The study adopted an interpretive methodology under qualitative research paradigm. Focus-group-interviews(FGIs) and in-depth-interviews(I-DIs) were applied for data collection process. Focus-group-members(FGMs) were 50-TUSs studying at various departments and various universities in NC. FGIs were applied to identify factors contributing to before academic mobility and after academic mobility factors. I-DIs were taken place with 60-different-Turkish-university-students(dTUSs) studying at various departments of universities in NC to identify the common before academic mobility and after academic mobility factors. Interpretive approach was applied for data collection process and data were analysed through content analysis. Results reveal that Turkish university students experience pull and push factors as before academic mobility factors. Additionally, faced factors and expected factors are identified as part of the after academic mobility factors. In conclusion, pull factors involve educational-quality, personal-contribution and adaptation-quality. Similarly, push factors include departmental-issues, familiarities, family and country factors. Also, faced factors contain factors regarding finance, difficulties and dangers whereas expected factors involve factors regarding campus-quality and valuing-the-self.

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“…Motivations for mobility include employment opportunities mentioned by Mincer & Jovanovich (1979) and Zucker et al (2002) as the pursuit of education according to Stouffer (1940), Altbach (1998), Altbach & Peterson (1998), Tremblay (2004), Musselin (2004), Willis (2010), Verbick & Lasanovsky (2007), Choudaha & Chang (2012), Erden (2016).…”

“…Altbachs accepted push-pull model (1998) that is frequently employed to elucidate the phenomenon of mobility as evidenced by studies conducted by Li & Bray (2007), Lam et al (2011), Cao et al (2016, Erden (2016) and Lee & Kuzhabekova (2018).…”