International Students' Academic Achievement and Progress in Turkish Higher Education Context: Students' and Academics' Views

Abstract

This study aims to express the international students' and academics' views about the conditions that affect academic achievement and progress of international students at a Turkish university from a qualitative research paradigm. The participants were 15 international students (10 males and 5 females) and 8 academics from different disciplines in the target university. Open-ended questions and classroom observations were employed to collect data. Also, second-wave interviews were conducted with the participants in order to have a deeper understanding the conditions influencing their academic achievement and progress. The collected data were analyzed by conducting thematic analysis. The findings concerning international students' views indicated that one of the most important factors that affect their academic achievement and progress is related to the proper use of the Turkish language proficiency, especially in writing. In parallel with students' views, the academics also stated that they are not satisfied with the whole progress of the international students in the classroom because they sometimes have communication problems within the course. All in all, the findings suggest that the model of instruction for international students in higher education should be grounded well and organized systematically. Implications are discussed for fostering the standards of teaching international students in higher education.