Determination of the Factors Affecting The Social And Academic Adjustment of International Students Studying At a Public University

Objective: This study was aimed to determination of the factors affecting the social and academic adjustment of international students studying at a public university.Materials and Methods: The study was planned by descriptive and analytical survey method between 25 January and 20 May 2017. The population of the study was composed of 77 international students studying in the first class of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Vocational School of a public university. No sample selection was made in the study and 69 students who agreed to participate in the study constituted the sample of the study (Participation Rate: 89.6%). The data were collected with the "Personal Information Form" and the "Adjustment to University Scale". Results: The average age of the participants was 20.78 ± 2.07 and 72.5% of the students were female. Most of the students were 53.6% Somalia and 10.1% Turkmenistan, and 73.9% were living in Turkey for more than 3 years. The mean score of the students' adjustment scale to the university was 94.52 ± 13.36, while the social adjustment was 80.59 ± 11.85 and the academic adjustment score was 13.92 ± 2.97. However, it was determined that the students had the most language problems and economic problems. While it was determined that academic adjustment was significantly higher in male students, it was determined that those who know Turkish in advance and stay with family had higher adjustment and social adjustment to the university. It was also found that who Turkish educated higher adjustment to the university and the economic situation significantly affected adjustment to the university. Conclusion: It was determined that the level of adjustment of the students to the university was high and that variables such as gender, staying place, economic situation and knowledge of Turkish language were important predictors of academic and social adjustment.