Turkish University Research Articles

The Relationship Between Stress Levels, Sleep Quality, and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Turkish University Students with Self-reported Bruxism

The Relationship Between Stress Levels, Sleep Quality, and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Turkish University Students with Self-reported Bruxism

Time-use, occupational balance, and temporal life satisfaction of university students in Turkey during isolation period of COVID-19

ABSTRACT People all over the world have needed to adapt to social distancing, movement restrictions, and change in life routines due to Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). This study aimed to explore the relationships between time-use, occupational balance, and temporal life satisfaction of university students in Turkey during the social isolation period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted online in May 2020, with 128 university students of a Turkish university with the mean age of 20.27 ± 1.49 years (Min. 18 - Max. 26 years old) from 37 cities. The measures used were the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ), the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS), and a customized question about the time-use of the students in specific occupational domains. The results indicated that individuals with lower occupational balance had less present life satisfaction (p < .001). While the time allocated to study lessons, socialization, and exercise had small positive correlations with OBQ (p <.01), watching TV had a negative correlation with OBQ (p <.05) and with ‘present TSWLS’ (p <.01). The mean value of ‘present TSWLS’ (15.45 ± 7.54) was lower than ‘past TSWLS’ (21.57 ± 6.27) and ‘future TSWLS’ (22.64 ± 4.60). Evaluation of occupational balance and the time use patterns of university students during the isolation periods could be important due to its relationship with life satisfaction. This issue raises the potential need for preventive occupation-based interventions to address the mental health of the community.

The ideal multilingual self of individuals in conflict-affected situations

ABSTRACT Little research has explored individuals’ multilingual selves when learning a language other than English (LOTE) in conflict-affected situations. Therefore, this qualitative study sought to understand the motivation and ultimate vision of a group of internally displaced Syrians learning Turkish as an L3 or L4 in Afrin on the Syrian-Turkish border. The data were collected from the participants’ written narratives and two subsequent rounds of individual online semi-structured interviews. The data suggest that the participants’ desire to learn Turkish ranged from the need to secure a job in Afrin to reasons associated with achieving their ideal selves by imagining themselves working/studying at a Turkish university and being integrated into the Turkish community in future. The participants were proactive agents, recognising that attending Turkish private tutoring courses with under-qualified tutors was not sufficient to improve their language proficiency. They capitalised on the availability of technology-mediated learning artefacts and the support of some informal actors. This qualitative study has pedagogical implications and provides further evidence of the need for SLA research to serve all multilingual people, not just the privileged, by conducing empirical studies in non-affluent geographies.

The frequency of bicycle helmet use among college students and health beliefs for bicycle helmet attitude

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of bicycle helmet use among college students and health beliefs about bicycle helmet attitude. Participants: Turkish university students (n = 799). Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted over the period 2019. A sociodemographic and cycling related questionnaire form and the Bicycle Helmet Attitudes Scale were used in the data collection. Descriptive statistics, t-test, Anova and Kruskal Wallis tests were used in the statistical analysis. Results: Only 10.4% of students wear a bicycle helmet. Students who using bicycle helmets had higher benefit health belief scores compared to those who didn’t, while barrier health belief scores were lower. There is a significant relationship between health belief scores for bicycle helmet attitude and gender, obeying traffic rules, thinking about helmet (unnecessary/disturbing/expensive/ridiculous) and helmet use. Conclusion: In this study, the frequency of using bicycle helmets is very low.

Clinical pharmacist assessment of drug-related problems among intensive care unit patients in a Turkish university hospital

BackgroundCritically ill patients treated in the intensive care units (ICUs) often suffer from side effects and drug-related problems (DRPs) that can be life-threatening. A way to prevent DRPs and improve drug safety and efficacy is to include clinical pharmacists in the clinical team. This study aims to evaluate the classification of drug-related problems and the implementation of clinical pharmacy services by a clinical pharmacist in the ICU of a university hospital in Turkey.MethodsThis study was carried out prospectively between December 2020 and July 2021 in Gazi University Medical Faculty Hospital Internal Diseases ICU. All patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit for more than 24 h were included in the study. During the study, the clinical pharmacist's interventions and other clinical services for patients were recorded. DRPs were classed according to the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe V.8.02.ResultsA total of 151 patients were included during the study period corresponding to 2264 patient-days. Patients with DRPs had a longer hospital stay and a higher mortality rate (p < 0.05). 108 patients had at least one DRP and the total number of DRPs was 206. There was an average of 1.36 DRPs per patient, 71.5% of patients experienced DRP and 89.22 DRPs per 1000 patient-days. A total of 35 ADEs were observed in 32 patients. ADE incidence was per 1000 patient-days 15.45. ADEs were caused by nephrotoxicity (48.57%), electrolyte disorders (17.14%), drug-induced thrombocytopenia (17.14%), liver enzyme increase (8.57%) and other causes (8.57%). Drug selection (40.29%) and dose selection (54.36%) constituted most of the causes of DRPs. Dose change was the highest percentage of planned interventions with a rate of 56.79%. Intervention was accepted at a rate of 90.8% and it was fully implemented.ConclusionIn this study, the importance of the clinical pharmacist in the determination and analysis of DRPs was emphasized. Clinical pharmacy services like the one described should be implemented widely to increase patient safety.

The Relationship of COVID-19 Student Stress with School Burnout, Depression and Subjective Well-Being: Adaptation of the COVID-19 Student Stress Scale into Turkish

COVID-19 has caused psychological problems in all age groups since it emerged from the first day. One of the most important groups has been affected negatively during the COVID-19 pandemic process are university students. One of the negative situations caused by the pandemic process in university students is student stress caused by COVID-19. To assess stress situations in Italian culture, the COVID-19 student stress scale (CSS-S) has been developed. In this context, the aim of this study was to adapt the CSS-S into Turkish. Another aim of the study was to investigate the direct and indirect relationships of COVID-19 student stress with school burnout, depression and subjective well-being. The participants of the study were 485 Turkish university students. The values obtained with the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor structure of CSS-S is satisfying (χ2/df = 2.99, AGFI = .95, TLI = .93, CFI = .96, IFI = .96, REMSEA = .06, SRMR = .04). Moreover, it was found that school burnout has a mediating role in the relationship between COVID-19 student stress and depression and subjective well-being (χstructure of CSS-S is satisfying/df = 2.41, AGFI = .87, TLI = .91, CFI = .91, IFI = .91, REMSEA = .05, SRMR = .05). These findings imply that psychosocial intervention studies to reduce COVID-19 student stress can reduce students' school burnout and depression. It also implies that these psychosocial intervention studies can have a positive impact on students' subjective well-being.

Beliefs about suicide prevention by excluding the phenomenon versus the person: The role of cultural orientation, attitudes towards suicide, and social reactions to suicidal persons in Turkish university students.

Based on their cultural orientation, people display approving/disapproving attitudes to suicide/suicidal persons that may be seen as either phenomenon excluding or person excluding. We tested whether cultural value orientations and suicidal attitudes were related to beliefs in the efficacy of excluding the phenomenon versus the person for preventing suicide. A total of 857 Turkish university students responded to a survey that include measures of cultural orientation, prevention beliefs related to phenomenon exclusion and person exclusion, and suicide related attitudes. While participants with an individualistic value orientation reported person exclusion to be more effective in preventing suicide, participants with a collectivistic orientation believed phenomenon exclusion to be more effective. Permissive attitudes to suicide were inversely related to beliefs in the effectiveness of phenomenon exclusion but positively to beliefs in the effectiveness of person exclusion for preventing suicide, but the magnitude of the relationships was low. While phenomenon exclusion was positively related to the social acceptance of and helping for a suicidal peer, the opposite was true for person exclusion prevention beliefs (The magnitude of the relationships was low to medium). Participants who attempted suicide believed less in the efficacy of phenomenon exclusion in preventing suicide than those who did not report any suicide attempts. Our findings imply that culture‐sensitive prevention efforts in contexts and individuals with an individualistic value orientation may target reducing the stigma surrounding suicidal persons, but in contexts and individuals with a collectivistic value orientation, they may target decreasing the stigma surrounding the phenomenon of suicide itself.

Hope as a Mediator of the Link between Subjective Vitality and Subjective Happiness in University Students in Turkey

In the present study, the relationship between subjective vitality and subjective happiness was examined through the mediating role of hope among 168 Turkish university students. To collect data, the Subjective Vitality Scales, the Dispositional Hope Scale, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Short Form, and a demographic information form were used. Bootstrapped mediation analysis was conducted to test the mediating role of hope in the link between subjective vitality and subjective happiness. Results indicated that hope was a significant mediator in the vitality-happiness link such that subjective vitality was positively related to hope, which in turn was positively related to subjective happiness. Some implications were discussed in the context of the theory and practice of subjective vitality and hope.

Theatre of the Oppressed for Critical Peace Education Practice: Difficult Dialogues in the Turkish University Classroom

This article emphasizes the urgent need for critical peace education practice in Turkish educational settings. The traditional teacher-centred pedagogies dominant in Turkish higher education make it difficult to employ critical pedagogies in ways relevant to students. This study proposes Theatre of the Oppressed as an invaluable instrument and medium to effectively employ critical peace education and investigates different sociological perspectives of societies, cultures and institutions. Towards this end, I first explain that educating for peace has to be a critical initiative due to its inherently controversial and challenging nature. Theatre of the Oppressed is then explored in detail as an inspiring tool for the aspirations and challenges of critical peace education practice. Finally, an example from a Turkish university classroom is presented in order to illustrate the affordances and limitations of employing Theatre of the Oppressed in similar higher education contexts.

Yükseköğretimde Teknoloji Entegrasyonu: Öğretim Elemanlarının Durumları

Since the use of technology in education is considered critical in terms of both teaching and learning, technology integration into instructional methods and teaching environments is a must. This requirement is indispensable for the education organizations at all levels of education, including higher education organizations. The use of instructional technology not only increases the success of the students but also offers many advantages to the academic staff. To benefit from technology for educational purposes, the staff must first adopt the technology and use it to support their teaching and then restructure their teaching experience with technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the issues in technology integration of academic staff at a Turkish university located in Central Anatolia. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were used in this study designed as a correlational survey research. The results showed that the techno-pedagogical competence of academic staff was almost at the advanced level. Moreover, the staff had high level of information and communication technologies (ICT) acceptance so they used technology in their teaching quite often. The participants reported that they used technology during the presentation of slides, and listed their major problems as insufficient infrastructure, limited ICT skills, inadequate technical support, and student- and software- related problems. The findings indicated that it was the daily life experiences of the academic staff rather than the in-service trainings that enhanced their technological and pedagogical skills.

Of Dark Pasts and Pipe Dreams: The Turkish University

Of Dark Pasts and Pipe Dreams: The Turkish University

An Investigation of Turkish University Students’ Internet Addiction Level During the Covid-19 Pandemic

"Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the level of internet addiction of university students in the coronavirus epidemic process in terms of various variables. The research was carried out with the screening model, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The study group in Turkey between coronavirus outbreak and characterized by intense social isolation process from March to April 2020 date, Turkey in different higher education institutions in studying and researching on Google Forms through volunteer who agreed to participate 113 men, 292 women It consists of a total of 405 university students. In the research, ""Young Internet Addiction Scale-Short Form"" adapted to Turkish by Kutlu et al. (2016) and ""Personal Information Form"" developed by researchers to determine demographic information were used to determine the level of internet addiction of university students. As a result of the research, internet addiction levels of university students were found low during the coronavirus outbreak days. In addition, while the internet addiction levels of university students participating in the study differ significantly according to the frequency of curfew and daily internet usage time; There is no significant difference in terms of gender, city and residence, number of family members and frequency of coronavirus anxiety. The results of the research were discussed in the light of the literature and suggestions were made."

İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRETİM GÖREVLİLERİNİN PANDEMİ DÖNEMİ UZAKTAN EĞİTİM SÜRECİ: BİR VAKA ÇALIŞMASI

This paper reports on the emergency remote education period of the instructors at the School of Foreign Languages of a Turkish state university. The university the study was conducted in, along with all other higher education institutions in Turkey, switched to online education with the sudden spread of the COVID 19 pandemic. To evaluate how the instructors dealt with this sudden transition, 110 participants teaching at the School of Foreign Languages completed an online survey at the end of the emergency remote education academic semester. Thereafter 24 of them volunteered to be interviewed about their experiences in more detail. The findings reveal that most instructors had some apprehension and difficulty in making the transition to online teaching, yet still considered themselves competent in dealing with the unexpected and unprepared teaching medium. Many thought the experience had been valuable to their personal development and referred to aspects of online education that will be integral to their professional development. It was observed that the instructors also repeatedly expressed that they perceived the experience as one that interaction among colleagues benefitted them most both in developing their digital skills and in providing them with psychological support.

Dealing with Emergency Remote Teaching: The Case of Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Turkey

Education has been offered in the form of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) worldwide since March 2020 due to the spread of Covid-19. This compulsory transition has often been marked by disregard of the technological infrastructure of educational institutions, digital literacy skills of teachers and students, and their access to technology. A growing body of research discusses challenges faced in ERT; however, further studies are needed to arrive at validated conclusions to inform formal language teaching and learning. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study aimed at adding context-dependent knowledge to the literature by reporting on the case of university students majoring in language teaching. For this reason, the perceptions of a group of 67 pre-service English language teachers on ERT practices at a Turkish state university were explored. Data were collected through an interview form developed by the researchers and a focus group interview. The data were analysed inductively using content analysis. Half of the participants reported that specific skills were conducive to doing tasks in an ERT environment. They not only reported a variety of challenges related to the perceived ineffectiveness of learning, technical insufficiency, and inappropriateness of the learning environment, but also acknowledged contributions to their personal and academic development. That is, they found ERT flexible, time-saving, and favourable for learners who felt more confident in virtual classrooms, and some considered ERT as an opportunity for self-actualisation. Nonetheless, the majority favoured face-to-face education over ERT appreciating the enhanced effectiveness of in-class education. In sum, the study emphasises the need to support learners and teachers by providing instructions and strategies on how to organise learning and teaching. Moreover, schools, policy makers, and governmental authorities may need to provide ERT-tailored programmes and an infrastructure in terms of technical equipment to meet the requirements of education delivered in ERT and to realise effective language learning in virtual environments. Broadening the knowledge base concerning ERT in language teacher education, this study advises to address drawbacks of ERT and to take advantage of its opportunities.

The Effect of the Flipped Classroom Model on Pre-Service Teachers' Digital Literacy and Digital Pedagogical Competencies

This study aims to analyze the effect of the flipped classroom model on the pre-service social studies teachers’ digital literacy and digital pedagogical competencies. The study employed one group pretest-posttest design, one of the weak experimental models. The working group of the study consisted of 28 sophomore studying at the department of social studies teaching in a Turkish state university during the 2019-2020 academic year. This study employed “Digital Literacy and Digital Pedagogic Competency Scales” as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics and multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA) were used during data analysis. The study results revealed that the flipped classroom model based activities had a significant impact upon the digital literacy and digital pedagogical competences of the participants. The study also examined whether there was a significant difference in pre-service teachers’ pre-test and post-test scores with regards to gender. A significant difference was identified across the pre-service teachers’ digital literacy post-test scores in favor of females. Based on the results, various recommendations were provided.

Fear of Missing Out and Problematic Social Media Use: A Research Among University Students in Turkey

This study examines the relationship of fear of missing out (FOMO) with heavy social networking among Turkish university students (aged 17 - 55). Factor analysis of FOMO scale led us to evaluate the construct under two dimensions as (1) fear of missing experience and (2) fear of missing activity. The results revealed that fear of missing activity increases social media intrusion while fear of missing experience is found to have no significant effect. The reverse relationship is also valid: an urge to use social media predicts fear of missing out (activity and experience). Fear of missing experience is associated with problematic social media use (PSMU) and a high desire to use social media.

Determination of anxiety levels of Turkish University students and affecting factors in COVID-19 pandemic: sample of a private university

Introduction: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its consequences have created anxiety in various segments of society. In particular, the transition to online education brought by this process has made the education process of university students difficult. Therefore, in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to examine the anxiety levels of university students and their relationship with somatic symptoms. Objective: To examine the level of generalised anxiety disorder and to reveal the relationship between somatic symptoms and the generalised anxiety disorder level of Turkish university students. Methods: Empirical research. Participants in the research constituted a total of 605 students studying at a private university in İstanbul. The Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was used to collect data. Data were analysed using the chi-square test and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: It was found that, among the participants, 193 (31.90%) of the students had mild anxiety, 149 (24.63%) had moderate anxiety and 121 (20.00%) had severe anxiety. The study revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between the number of somatic symptoms and generalised anxiety disorder scores of university students. Conclusion: Most of the university students are affected by anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and this effect is correlated with the frequency of somatic symptoms. In this context, it would be beneficial for universities to plan for acute and long-term psychological services and to cooperate with the government to provide timely crisis-oriented psychological services.

Fear of COVID-19 lead to procrastination among Turkish university students: The mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty

BackgroundThe COVID-19 outbreak has not only increased mortality but has also negatively affected mental health among populations across the world. Furthermore, individuals are experiencing uncertainty about their current and future situation because of the pandemic. Therefore, the present study investigated the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and procrastination among a sample of Turkish university students.MethodsBetween October and November 2020, 450 university students (291 females and 159 males aged 17 to 24 years) from three state universities in Turkey completed an online survey. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling methods were employed to examine a model for understanding the general procrastination during COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsThe results of the correlation analysis indicated that the fear of COVID-19 was positively correlated with both intolerance of uncertainty (r = .26, p < .001) and procrastination (r = .23, p < .001). The mediation analysis also showed that intolerance of uncertainty had a significant mediating role in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and procrastination (β = .11, p < .001).ConclusionReducing the fear of COVID-19 and intolerance of uncertainty is likely to contribute to reducing individuals’ procrastination behaviors during the pandemic.

Investigating L2 Motivational Self System in the Turkish University Context

This research explores how well L2 motivational self systems explain language learning motivation of university students in the Turkish context. To this end, data were collected from 668 university students in a state university in Turkey using a 51-item questionnaire and semi-structured interviews in this mixed methods research. The data from both the questionnaire and the interview indicate an overwhelming impact of language learning experience on the learners’ motivation to learn English as a foreign language as opposed to their ideal L2 selves or ought-to L2 selves. The findings about the relationship among the components of L2 motivational self systems are in line with the results of the previous research, lending support to the framework of L2 motivational self systems. Finally, the results suggest that learners’ motivation is a dynamic system, changing and evolving over time. The study has implications for language teachers, curriculum designers as well as further research in language learning motivation.

Improving second language vocabulary learning and retention by leveraging memory enhancement techniques: A multidomain pedagogical approach

We investigated whether learning and retaining vocabulary in a second language (L2) can be improved by leveraging a combination of memory enhancement techniques. Specifically, we tested whether combining retrieval practice, spacing, and related manipulations in a ‘multidomain’ pedagogical approach enhances vocabulary acquisition as compared to a typical learning approach. In a classroom-laboratory design, 48 Turkish university students studying L2 English were trained on 64 English words over 17 days. They were assigned to either a ‘typical’ study regimen of (re)studying the words on the first day (initial study) and last day (cramming) of training, or an ‘optimized’ regimen of retrieval practice (retrieving the words), moreover with feedback, spaced throughout the period, moreover with expanding gaps. The target words were tested before training (pre-test) and one and 11 days afterwards (post-tests). Mixed-effects modeling revealed a training-group by test-session interaction, due to greater improvements from optimized training (a striking 18 percentage-point accuracy increase from pre-test to both post-tests) than typical training (an 8 percentage-point increase). Further analyses showed that the optimized training advantages were mainly driven by high (rather than low) frequency words. Overall, the results suggest that a multidomain approach of combining different memory enhancement techniques can lead to substantial gains in both the learning and retention of L2 words, as compared to a typical study pattern. The findings have implications for L2 learning and pedagogy.