Determining the Educational Needs of International Students Residing in Antalya from the Perspectives of Students, Teachers, Parents and Administrators

Abstract

The natural beauties of Turkey, the value of foreign currencies compared to the Turkish lira, and the granting of residency rights to foreign citizens are among the most compelling reasons for foreigners to settle in Turkey. Therefore, international students are included in the educational system. This study aims to evaluate the needs of international students residing in Antalya and what could be done to accommodate them. Antalya-based classroom teachers, school principals, international students, and parents of international students comprise our study group. In the study, a semi-structured interview, which is a qualitative research method, was employed. A semi-structured interview form was developed by the researchers in order to collect the research data. The interview data were recorded using a voice recorder, and then decoded, transcribed, and analyzed using the content analysis approach. The analyzed data was divided into categories, themes, and codes. The research findings are presented in three themes: socio-cultural needs, educational needs, and psychological needs. The incorporation of elements of the students’ own cultures into the educational environment has been recognized by students, teachers, administrators, and parents as a shared sociocultural need. Students, teachers, administrators, and parents see the language, understanding-explanation, and success needs of their classmates as shared educational and training requirements. Pupils, teachers, administrators, and parents describe success, trust, love and attention, understanding, and communication as common psychological requirements of students. In addition, students, teachers, administrators, and parents proposed solutions for the issues identified in the study.