Meaning in Life and Lifelong Learning: The Case of Turkish Immigrants in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Adults’ psychological well-being is greatly influenced by the meaning they attain in life. A lack of an established meaning in life may cause distress, and urge individuals to indulge in activities assisting in their quest for meaning. Immigration, be it a reason for or a result of the quest for meaning, may seriously affect people’s psychological well-being. A plethora of research has investigated the issues under-privileged immigrants face, with little attention given to professional immigrants’ well-being. These people’s lifelong learning propensities relative to acquisition of meaning in life have not received much attention either. The complementarity between the two can increase our understanding of the psychological and educational needs of professional immigrants. To this end, this research investigated 50 professional Turkish immigrants’ experiences in the UAE. It involved 30 female and 20 male adults with a mean age of 38. Data were collected using two instruments borrowed from the literature on the topic. Results showed that the participants’ scores for presence of and search for meaning were above the threshold level indicating a positive attribute. The participants in the female, mid-adulthood, and greater length of stay categories received higher scores for presence of meaning in life. A weak, positive correlation occurred between presence of meaning in their lives and lifelong learning scores; however, a weak, negative correlation was detected between search for meaning in life and lifelong learning scores. Results are discussed, and recommendations are made to enhance professional immigrants’ acquisition of meaning in life through engagement in lifelong learning.