International Turkish Student Experience in Canadian Higher Education

Abstract

This study explores and discusses the experience of students from Turkey in Canadian higher education. It is known that international student experience is a complex and multidimensional issue and is influenced by various fixed or unfixed factors that vary at individual and national levels. Drawing on Jones's classification of international student experience (i.e., academic, pastoral/living, social experience) and the factors affecting these types of experience (i.e., personal, familial, institutional, and national milieus), the qualitative research method, namely in-depth interview, was used to acquire detailed knowledge about the issue by using the purposive sampling technique. The findings of this study basically indicate that personal, institutional, and national dimensions have a strong effect on the experience of international Turkish students in Canadian higher education.

Student eXperience: A Systematic Literature Review

“…In their work, they focused on measuring the experiences of international students, as well as their satisfaction level and perceived performance [99]. This is a complex task, considering that the international student experience is a multidimensional issue influenced by various personal and cultural factors [91]. Meehan and Howells conducted a study to analyze the perceptions of first year students, regarding students' experiences and satisfaction.…”

“…Cheeseman has considered that the experience of students does not strictly refer to the relationship between students and their HEI, but encompasses aspects of the students' day to day lives [90]. Students' personal experience, familial experience, institutional experience, national milieus, class, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or responsibility for dependents, are factors that influence SX [54,[91][92][93].…”