2021/11/10 by Seda Erturk, Seda Ertürk, Lan Anh Nguyen Luu · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Global Education and Multiculturalism #Higher Education Governance and Development #International Student and Expatriate Challenges
paper · doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.10.006
openalex publication_date 2021/11/10 · crossref created 2021/11/10 · crossref issued 2022/01/01 · crossref published 2022/01/01 · crossref published-print 2022/01/01 · crossref deposited 2025/09/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
A case study approach was used to investigate the adaptation experiences of Turkish international students (TIS), which may vary according to the host culture, in two different cultures: Hungary (n = 14) and the United States (US) (n = 12). The findings of the data analysis yielded four broad overlapping categories: (1) experiences in academic setting, (2) interaction with others in the host country, (3) political reflections in the host country, and (4) everyday matters in the host country. According to findings, depending on the factors in the institutional, social and physical environment, and societal contexts, both the psychological and sociocultural adaptation experiences of the participants in Hungary and the US differed. The study revealed that studying in Hungary, which offers english mediuim instruction programs, poses some serious difficulties for TIS compared to their co-nationals studying in an English-speaking country, such as in-school separation from local students. However, due to a shared historical background between Hungarians and Turks, TIS in Hungary have experienced many cultural similarities in their relations and daily lives unlike TIS in the US. Additionally, the positive attitudes of some Hungarian politicians toward Turkey and Turkish ethnicity have contributed to TIS' perceived low cultural distance and positively affected their cross-cultural adaptation process. Whereas, TIS in the US experienced stress that hindered adaptation due to certain political developments in the US and their political relations with Turkey.