Yasar Kondakci

The challenges of internationalization from foreign and local students’ perspectives: The case of management school

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to discern the issues pertaining to different dimensions of internationalization from the perspectives of both foreign and local students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 foreign, and 13 local students. The results show that there is a dissonance between policy makers and implementers, and the students themselves on “what a truly international higher education organization” in fact is. Moreover, the results suggest that asymmetrical aims of local and foreign students endanger fulfillment of the academic, social, and cultural rationales behind internationalization. Fulfilling the rationales of internationalization depends not only the adaptability of foreign students to local conditions but also on the priorities, choices and level of commitment of local students, administrative staff, and faculty members to the imperatives of internationalization.

Readiness of teachers for change in schools

Theorizing on the role of teacher attitudes in change effectiveness, this study examined the predictive value of context (trust), process (social interaction, participative management and knowledge sharing) and outcome (job satisfaction and workload perception) variables for cognitive, emotional and intentional readiness of teachers for change. The study was designed as predictive correlational study. Data were collected from 1649 elementary teachers. Hierarchical linear regression analysis results indicated that background and context variables are weak predictors of readiness for change (RFC), while job outcome and process variables emerged as stronger predictors of RFC. The central role of job satisfaction and trust in predicting RFC suggests that readiness cannot be limited to times of change; rather, it is closely related to total experiences of teachers on their job. As a result, for a more effective management of teachers’ attitudes towards change leadership needs to hold a broader temporal and contextual understanding rather than demonstrating limited interventions during times of change.

An exploration of the relationship between readiness for change and organizational trust in Turkish public schools

Readiness for change is one of the constructs that fosters positive behaviours, attitudes and thinking towards new adjustments on the part of employees. As one of the internal context variables, trust acts as a catalyst for supportive behaviours in times of change and uncertainty by reducing change related resistance and stress. Based on this understanding, this study explores the predictive value of organizational trust for cognitive, emotional and intentional readiness for change among a group of primary and secondary school teachers in Turkey. The data from 603 public school teachers were collected using the Omnibus T-Scale and Readiness for Change-Cognitive Emotional Intentional Scale. Taking each dimension of readiness for change as a criterion variable, three sets of predictors were defined for three separate hierarchical regression analyses. The results provided empirical evidence concerning the relationship between intentional, emotional and cognitive readiness for change and perceived faculty trust in colleagues and in the principal after statistically controlling for the school level and teacher demographics at primary and secondary level public schools. The results were interpreted within the scope of the current literature as well as structural and functional characteristics of Turkish education system.

The Mediating Roles of Internal Context Variables in the Relationship between Distributed Leadership Perceptions and Continuous Change Behaviours of Public School Teachers.

Abstract This study aims at building a theoretical base for continuous change in education and using this base to test the mediating roles of two key contextual variables, knowledge sharing and trust, in the relationship between the distributed leadership perceptions and continuous change behaviours of teachers. Data were collected from 687 public school teachers. The results showed that the combined effect of knowledge sharing and faculty trust in principal mediated the relationship between teachers’ distributed leadership perceptions and continuous change behaviours. The directions of the coefficients of the relationships between the independent variable and the dependent variable suggested that higher distributed leadership perception leads to increased knowledge sharing and trust in principal, which in turn was associated with greater continuous change behaviours. The study showed that school systems have an extensive capacity for self-improvement, even in the absence of a pre-developed change plan.

Two Decades of Research into the Internationalization of Higher Education: Major Themes in the "Journal of Studies in International Education" (1997-2016).

In recent decades, internationalization within higher education has emerged as a distinct field for practice and research. However, there are few meta-analyses of how the research trends and foci of this topic have evolved and shifted over time. This article analyzes the content of the Journal of Studies in International Education (JSIE), a central outlet for internationalization research, thus shedding light on overarching developments and trends within the field. In this investigation, the text-mining tool Leximancer™ is used to generate concept maps based on the titles and abstracts of all 406 scientific articles published in the JSIE between 1997 and 2016 (first issue). Four major developmental waves in this research area are revealed: delineation of the field (1997-2001), institutionalization and management of internationalization (2002-2006), consequences of internationalization: student needs and support structures (2007-2011), and currently, moving from the institutional to the transnational context of internationalization (2012-2016). The results show how the meaning of the concept has evolved to encapsulate several other related concepts in research on higher education, while reporting practices toward internationalization at individual, institutional, and national levels.

The Development of Distance Education Systems in Turkey, the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia

Abstract In many countries, open and distance education is perceived as a way to meet the growing need for higher education. This paper explores the development of online and distance education in three countries that are still a white spot on the landscape of international distance education research although they have implemented elaborated distance education systems: Turkey, Russia and Saudi-Arabia. In order to understand the current state of distance education systems in the three countries, their respective systems are described from a historical perspective, compared in regard to their organization, important institutions for open and distance education and current developments. This comparative analysis directs the focus on little investigated education systems and contributes to an enhanced understanding of their past, present, and future.

Salient characteristics of high-performing Turkish elementary schools

Purpose – Considering student achievement in a nation-wide examination as an indicator of school effectiveness, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the common characteristics across nine highly performing schools. Design/methodology/approach – The study was designed as a multiple-case study. Semi-structured interviews with teachers and administrators were conducted when collecting the data. Content analysis was implemented in analyzing the interview transcripts. Findings – The findings of the study basically suggest building a vision of achievement and sharing this vision with different constituencies, structuring positive instructional environment and implementing positive classroom managerial practices, educational leadership identifying the needs of school environment and responding to these needs, investing in positive school climate, monitoring pupils’ progress, ensuring the contribution of parents in schooling practices, and structuring a safe physical environment and providing necessary mat...

Understanding Leadership Practices in a Sustainable School Model: A Case from Turkey

Dissatisfaction from the current schooling alternatives has been the basic driver behind the search for an alternative schooling system among parents in Turkey. Being concerned about the quality of available public and private schooling alternatives, a group of parents has initiated an alternative schooling system which is based on different structure, values and goals. The aim of this chapter is to reveal the general features of the so called Another School is Possible (ASIP) movement and the roles and responsibilities of the school principal in creating a sustainable and alternative school system. We used document analysis, observation and interview as sources of data for revealing administrative and academic features of this alternative school system as well as investigating leadership traits and behaviors for accomplishing a sustainable school system. The data suggest that ASIP model is based on four main values including alternative education, democratic management, ecological stance and authentic finance, which guide all administrative, instructional and financial actions at schools. The leadership function is distributed across different constituencies, including the principals, teachers, parents and the students. However, the principal is orchestrating body for realizing a sustained, bottom-up, and successful school model.

Tertiary Schooling Patterns and Disadvantaged Groups in Turkey

The young and dynamic population of Turkey makes it one of the most vibrant countries for tertiary education in the world. As a result, Turkish tertiary education has experienced a rapid expansion in the number of tertiary institutions, of academic staff members, and student participation rates in higher education, which is a result of the growing demand for tertiary education. However, socioeconomic and cultural disparities continue to restrict the access of the disadvantaged subpopulations into higher education and those disadvantaged students who do gain access into higher education tend not to enter into those programs such as law, engineering, and medicine, which will ensure their employability in the future. Relying on macro-level data on economic and education indicators of Turkey, this chapter aims to document structural characteristics of higher education in Turkey and depict the underlying policy issues limiting access into tertiary education among disadvantaged segments of the society. We argue that system-level governance issues, institutional-level managerial practices, and societal-level cultural issues lead the current tertiary schooling patterns among disadvantaged students in Turkey.

Governmental Supports for Students in Turkey: Beneficiary Perspective on the Use of Financial and Social Support in Higher Education

Providing financial and social supports to students is a common policy practice in many countries. Scholarships and basic services (food, accommodation, transportation, free health services etc.) are the most common supports provided to students. Particularly developing countries which follow quantitative growth policies in higher education need more comprehensive student support systems. In developing countries both access to higher education and maintenance of the higher education degrees is a challenging task for students coming from disadvantaged segments of the society. Based on these arguments, this study aimed at revealing the perception of higher education level students about the effectiveness of the supports provided by different public institutions (central governments, municipalities, and their own universities) in their access to higher education, in facilitating their study experience, and in contributing to their employability after their study. This study was designed as a survey study. Financial and social support policies are particularly important for students who attend faculties of education. Large scale studies conducted with pre-service teacher candidates suggest that the students attending these faculties are coming from socio-economically disadvantaged segments of society. Given these contextual characteristics, this study was conducted among faculty of education students. Data from 773 students studying at ten different public universities in Turkey were collected. The results indicated that the students find the role of the public supports as extremely weak in their choices of the field (education) for higher education study and in facilitating their lives during their studies. Besides, the participants indicated a negative perception about the role of public support in their future employability after study. These results show that the utility of the public support system is extremely narrow in impacting the students’ lives in Turkey.