Dr. Aysun Dogutas
Pamukkale University, Turkey
Title: Outcomes of Being an International Student in Turkey
Abstract:
Universities in many Western countries host a substantial number of international students. Turkey is one of these countries. International students bring a range of benefits to the host country, and in return, the students gain higher education. However, choosing to study abroad may present many challenges for the international students. The present paper provides the challenges international students face in Turkish universities. Personal narratives and interpretations of their own lives can help to understand the growing body of knowledge of the problems of international students. With narrative individual lives receive a representation that can be communicated. Thus, this study is a case study with narratives of four international students studying at a university in Turkey. The results of this study showed that while international students sometimes get support from their peers and instructors most of the time they face difficulties in their classes, social lives, and economics.
Keywords: International student, narrative, challenge, host country
Biography:
Dr. Aysun Dogutas completed her bachelor’s degree at the English Language Teaching Department of Education Faculty at Hacettepe University in Turkey. After she graduated from the university, she went to the USA for master's and doctoral degrees. She completed her master's and doctoral education in the Cultural Foundations Department of Education Faculty at Kent State University in the USA. She researched school violence phenomenon in Ankara state schools as a doctoral thesis called “SCHOOL VIOLENCE IN TURKEY MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES IN MULTIPLE SETTINGS”. Dr. Dogutas served as a research assistant at Gerald H. Read International and Intercultural Education Center at Kent State University. Due to her services at the center, Dr. Dogutas received an Excellent Leadership Award. After finishing her doctorate, she returned to Turkey and worked as an assistant professor at Agrı Ibrahim Cecen University for three years. She received her associate degree in 2009 and is still working as an associate professor at the Philosophical, Social, and Historical Foundations of Education Department at Pamukkale University, Denizli. Currently, she is a visiting scholar at Florida Gulf Coast University for one year (the 2023-20224 academic year). Her study interests are gender, violence, migration, media, and educational sociology.