Faculties of Theology in university complexes are higher education institutions which educate students in the field of religion education, and especially educate them to be teachers or religious officials after the education. Excessive numbers of new faculties of theology have been opened recently in Turkey, and there has been an increase in the number of students placed into these faculties; and these facts bring various problems together. It is seen that several problems are arising when the expectations of the students are compared with the new faculties’ physical, social and other kinds of opportunities. This study, example of Mustafa Kemal University (MKU), Faculty of Theology students, aims at identifying academic problems of university students in particular, besides problems and expectations of theirs related to socio-cultural, economic, and educational issues. The sampling of this study consisted of 56 students who have been enrolled in the Faculty of Theology of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University (MKU) in 2017-2018 academic year. The research is limited to the 2017-2018 academic year, the Faculty of Theology of the MKU, and only the first year students. The questionnaire with 40 items was conducted by the researchers for collecting data. The 13 questions of this survey as independent variable are used for reflecting the personal characteristics of students. Thus, by these questionnaire with 40 items, we tried to be determined the problems and expectations of students as well as their socio-cultural status and their attitudes towards the faculty. After coding the data obtained from the data collection tools, and entering into the computer, they are evaluated by the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) 25. Frequency and percentage values are also included in the presentation of the data. In the present descriptive study, where scanning model has been utilized, the findings have been discussed in the frame of the observations of the researchers and the data collected through questionnaires and interviews. The girls have a majority in the sampling of study. Although the majority of the students have İmam-Hatip High School (IHL) graduates, it is noteworthy that the percentage of those who come other high schools. The education level of students’ parents is low, but the education level of their fathers is higher than their mothers. The majority of students spend their free time with their friends. This is important for showing the strength of their friendship bond. Therefore, it is meaningful to mention that the respondents have chosen the option “to my friends” in the first place, in case of any problem. Comparing with other studies, it is clear that mothers or fathers have a deficiency in the solution of their children's problems or meeting their expectations in terms of social, economic and cultural aspects. Most of the students have knowledge about the faculty before they enroll to the faculty, and they preferred the faculty mostly in the first place. On the other hand, it was determined that the teaching staff were mostly related to the students. Although students think that the relationship between girls and boys is weak, they approach positively to mixed-sex education in terms of education. On the contrary, there are students who criticize mixed-sex education and suggest that girls and boys should be in separate classes, their justification is based on psychosocial concerns rather than on religion. In addition, it can be said that the students have some problems in adopting and explaining their identities and not always using the theologian identity. The results of the study show that the biggest concern the students have is about future, and especially the fear of not being able to find a job. This situation also stands as the most important factor behind their choice of choosing that faculty. The second biggest concern they have is not being able to graduate from the faculty. However, the majority of the students are hopeful about the future.
2018 
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