Internationalization Policies and Strategies From the Comparative Standpoint of Student Mobility in Slovenian and Turkish Higher Education

This chapter explores the development and implementation of internationalization policies, strategies, and practices from the standpoint of student mobility. It considers Slovenia and Turkey as the two countries forming the European Higher Education Area which have not received much attention from comparative researchers dealing with higher education. To this end, it initially investigates each country case individually by analyzing student mobility in national and institutional internationalization policies and strategies and its implementation in practice. On this basis, it provides the necessary background for the continuing debate, in which it evaluates the main similarities and differences in the field from the comparative perspective of both countries examined. Methodologically, the chapter is based on a thorough analysis of multiple documentary sources and most recent secondary data obtained from national and international statistical databases.

The Subject of Turkish Higher Education Research: The Case of Faculty Members

The purpose of this study is to examine the research on faculty members as one of the central subjects of Turkish higher education research based on data from 256 articles, master’s and doctoral theses between 2015 and 2019. An analytical framework was used to review and classify the information on research and researchers, the object of study, and the object of knowledge. Turkish higher education research on faculty members was mainly published in the form of articles in peer-reviewed journals in Turkish. The primary objects of study were about the islands of teaching and learning, policy studies, identity development, institutional research, and the scholarships of discovery and teaching. As for the object of knowledge, Turkish higher education research on faculty members was found to be descriptive. Quantitative studies employed parametric tests for research data based on the target population and simple random sampling with a maximum of 400 respondents. The qualitative studies used interviews and content analysis for data collection and analysis. Establishing structures focusing on systematic and long-term research on faculty around the issues such as recruitment, career, and post-career stages was among the recommendations of the paper

The Future of Higher Education: The Effects of Covid-19 on Teaching, Research and Internationalization

Covid-19, which emerged in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019 and has turned into a pandemic in a short time, has brought many social problems. It is clear that it will also have some short and long term effects in the field of higher education. Based on the recent publications, the current study aims to discuss what these effects will be in different dimensions of higher education. However, due to the difficulties of covering so many different pandemic-related developments within a single study, the current study focuses more on the effects of the Covid-19 process on teaching, research and internationalization in higher education. Based on the recent discussions on these focal themes, recommendations are made specifically for the Turkish higher education system.

Digitalization in international and mass education: A model proposal for Turkey

There is a debate as to whether internationalization should be a target or a means to achieve goals with broader perspectives. Digitalization, on the other hand, is a de facto trend that permeates all communicative, economic and social areas. For this purpose, the study aimed to examine literature on the field and the findings of the researchers on the issue were included. The research also discussed the internationalization and digitalization efforts carried out in the world and in Turkey. An internationalization model proposal for the Turkish higher education system is presented in outline, taking the best practices around the world into account. Model involves a digitalization-oriented education approach that aims to increase the opportunities for students to get support from their families and to minimize their socio-economic difficulties. The contributions of a massification provided by digitalization to international education have been revealed in this study. Keywords: digitalization; education; internationalization; massification; Turkey.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Turkey and an Analysis in the Context of Turkish Higher Education

Open and distance learning has evolved on the basis of openness philosophy in education and benefited from various approaches to this philosophy. Different MOOC platforms have emerged in Turkey as a reflection of these developments. The main purpose of this study is to examine MOOCs in the context of Turkish higher education. For this purpose, by adopting the qualitative embedded single case design, the Akadema, AtademiX and Bilgeİş MOOC platforms were examined. The findings indicate that MOOCs successfully serve the universal ideals such as offering equal opportunities in education, democratization of education, and liberation of knowledge in Turkey. Besides, MOOCs were found to contribute to adapting to the changes paralleling the transformations in the globalizing world and in the digital knowledge age; strengthening communication and cooperation channels between the society, industry and university; and finally, fostering social justice with an inclusive approach by increasing operational capabilities in diverse educational domains.

An Essential Concept for the Turkish Higher Education Area: "Competition"

In 2000, Turkey had 1.5 million university students at 71 universities, whereas today, it has a much broader field of higher education with a university student population of over seven million at more than 200 universities. Although this quantitative expansion has brought some advantages, it has also created several problems, the most significant of which have emerged in terms of "quality". Whether quality increases in parallel with this expansion is an essential issue to consider. This paper emphasizes that HE institutions need to focus on "competition" to support the quantitative expansion in the field of Turkish HE with qualitative improvement. For this purpose, first, the state of the Turkish HE was overviewed from past to present. Next, the importance of "competition" for Turkish HE was highlighted and the two fundamental theories of competition were discussed by reviewing the related literature. Finally, a theoretical model based on the factors obtained through an assessment of how these theories can be applied to HE was presented.