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Journals / Erzincan Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 28 Sayı: 2026

International Students’ Experiences of SDG Commitments in Teacher Education

Öğretmen Eğitiminde SKA Söylemine İlişkin Uluslararası Öğrenci Deneyimleri

Özlem Erden-Başaran(TED Üniversitesi)0000-0002-0374-1942
Merih Ugurel-Kamisli(TED UNIVERSITY)0000-0001-8434-1678
Hilal Seda Yıldız(Arden University)0000-0001-6680-1597
Ayşe Bilicioğlu Güneş(Bartın Üniversitesi)0000-0002-1603-8631
Pages
1–10
Publication Date
2026-08-17
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The study offers a context-specific account of how international students experience SDG commitments in a Turkish teacher education program, while speaking to debates on internationalisation in semi-peripheral higher education contexts.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study examines how higher education practices driven by commitments to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shape international students’ experiences in Turkish teacher education programmes.
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Key Findings & Data:Using narrative inquiry and guided by critical internationalisation and postcolonial perspectives in higher education, the study examines how global sustainability discourses are translated into local contexts through curriculum design, institutional language policies, and everyday inclusion practices.
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Conclusion & Impact:The study offers a context-specific account of how international students experience SDG commitments in a Turkish teacher education program, while speaking to debates on internationalisation in semi-peripheral higher education contexts.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:higher education · internationalization · sustainable development goals

Abstract

This study examines how higher education practices driven by commitments to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shape international students’ experiences in Turkish teacher education programmes. Using narrative inquiry and guided by critical internationalisation and postcolonial perspectives in higher education, the study examines how global sustainability discourses are translated into local contexts through curriculum design, institutional language policies, and everyday inclusion practices. Interview data from six international students show that although SDG rhetoric invokes commitments to quality education, inclusion, and peace, the application of these principles remains uneven. Linguistic hierarchies, limited intercultural engagement, and symbolic compliance with SDG frameworks create tensions between such global aspirations and local educational practices. These narratives show contradictions within SDG implementation, highlighting the need for more reflexive and structurally grounded approaches to internationalisation. The study offers a context-specific account of how international students experience SDG commitments in a Turkish teacher education program, while speaking to debates on internationalisation in semi-peripheral higher education contexts.

Özet

Bu çalışma, Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçları (SKA) doğrultusunda gerçekleştirilen reformların Türk öğretmen eğitimi programlarında öğrenim gören uluslararası öğrencilerin deneyimlerini nasıl şekillendirdiğini eleştirel bir bakışla incelemektedir. Anlatı araştırmasına dayanan ve eleştirel uluslararasılaşma perspektiflerinden yararlanan bu araştırma, küresel sürdürülebilirlik söylemlerinin program tasarımı, kurumsal dil politikaları ve gündelik kapsayıcılık pratikleri aracılığıyla nasıl yerelleştirildiğini sorgulamaktadır. Altı uluslararası öğrenciyle gerçekleştirilen görüşmelerden elde edilen veriler, SKA söyleminin nitelikli eğitim, kapsayıcılık ve barışa yönelik taahhütleri vurgulamasına rağmen, bu ilkelerin uygulamaya geçirilmesinde düzensizlikler olduğunu göstermektedir. Dilsel farklılıklar, sınırlı kültürlerarası etkileşim ve SKA çerçevelerine yönelik sembolik uyum, küresel hedeflerle yerel eğitim uygulamaları arasındaki uyumsuzluğu ortaya koymaktadır. Bu anlatılar, SKA uygulamalarındaki çelişkileri görünür kılmakta ve uluslararasılaşmaya daha yansıtıcı ve yapısal temellere dayanan yaklaşımlara duyulan ihtiyacı vurgulamaktadır. Araştırma, uluslararası öğrencilerin Türkiye’deki bir öğretmen eğitimi programında SKA taahhütlerini deneyimleme biçimlerine ilişkin bağlama duyarlı bir analiz sunmakta; bunun yanı sıra yarı-çevre konumdaki yükseköğretim sistemlerinde uluslararasılaşma tartışmalarına da ışık tutmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Erden-Başaran, Ö., Ugurel-Kamisli, M., Yıldız, H. S., Güneş, A. B. (2026). International Students’ Experiences of SDG Commitments in Teacher Education. Erzincan Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 28 Sayı: 2026, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.17556/erziefd.1912489

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