Students’ Expectations From Postgraduate Education and the Factors Affecting Course and Advisor Selection Processes: The Case of a City University

Ö¤rencilerin Lisansüstü E¤itimden Beklentileri ile Ders ve Dan›flman Seçme Süreçlerini Etkileyen Etmenler: Bir fiehir Üniversitesi Örne¤i

Abstract

Postgraduate education consisting of master’s, doctorate and proficiency in arts programs is an educational process that continues according to certain criteria after undergraduate education. It is the education process through which certain specializations and doctorate qualifications are gained. In this quantitative study, the expectations of graduate students studying at Giresun University, which has a city university status in Turkey, from postgraduate education, i.e. their reasons for continuing with their postgraduate education and the factors affecting their selection of courses and advisors are investigated. With the help of a questionnaire created by the researchers in line with the opinions of the field experts, the data were collected from a group of graduate students who were attending the programs affiliated with Giresun University Graduate School of Science and Social Sciences. The results obtained from the data analyzed by using descriptive statistics, conceptual connotation and descriptive analysis show that the main expectation of the participants is to pursue an academic career. Thus, postgraduate education evokes ‘academia’ and ‘development’ the most. They are careful to choose the courses related to the field they will study and research and they mostly learn about the content of the courses by reading the course contents published electronically. In the selection of advisors, while some of the postgraduate students chose their advisor according to their academic discipline; the majority was automatically assigned an advisor without first asking for their opinions. In the two graduate schools where the research is conducted the course and advisor selection processes should be improved and the quality of the offered programs should be increased by aligning them with the student expectations from postgraduate education.

Özet

Yüksek lisans, doktora ve sanatta yeterlik programlar›ndan oluflan lisansüstü e¤itim; lisans e¤itiminin ard›ndan belirli kriterlere ba¤l› olarak devam ettirilen, tamamlanmas›ndan sonra uzmanl›k ve doktora yeterliklerinin kazan›ld›¤› e¤itim-ö¤retim sürecidir. Bu araflt›rmada Türkiye’de flehir üniversitesi statüsünde olan Giresun Üniversitesinde lisansüstü ö¤renimlerini sürdüren ö¤rencilerin lisansüstü e¤itimden beklentileri, baflka bir ifade ile lisansüstü e¤itime devam etme gerekçeleri ile bu süreçte ders ve dan›flman seçmelerini etkileyen etmenler araflt›r›lmaktad›r. Araflt›rma nicel bir çal›flmad›r. Araflt›rmac›lar taraf›ndan alan uzmanlar›n›n görüflleri do¤rultusunda oluflturulan anket formunda yer alan sorularla Giresun Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri ve Sosyal Bilimler Enstitülerine ba¤l› programlarda ö¤renimlerini sürdüren bir grup lisansüstü ö¤rencisinden veri toplanm›flt›r. Elde edilen verilerin tan›mlay›c› istatistik, kavramsal ça¤r›fl›m ve betimsel analiz kullan›- larak analiz edildi¤i araflt›rman›n sonuçlar›; araflt›rmaya kat›lan lisansüstü ö¤rencilerinin lisansüstü e¤itimden temel beklentilerinin akademik kariyer yapmak oldu¤unu göstermektedir. Nitekim lisansüstü e¤itim kendilerine en çok akademi ve geliflimi ça¤r›flt›rmaktad›r. Ö¤renciler, derslerini seçerken çal›flacaklar›/araflt›rma yapacaklar› alanla ilgili dersleri seçmeye dikkat etmekte ve ders içeriklerini ö¤renmek ve uygun dersleri seçmek için ço¤unlukla dersin elektronik ortamda yay›mlanm›fl içeri¤inden faydalanmaktad›rlar. Dan›flman seçiminde ise bir k›s›m lisansüstü ö¤rencisi dan›flman›n›, akademik disiplin alan›n› göz önünde bulundurarak seçmiflken; ço¤unlu¤un dan›flman› ö¤rencilerin fikirleri al›nmadan atanm›flt›r. Bu kapsamda araflt›rman›n yap›ld›¤› iki enstitüde ö¤rencilerin ders ve dan›flman seçme süreçlerinin iyilefltirilmesi; ö¤rencilerin lisansüstü e¤itimden beklentileri do¤rultusunda sunulan programlar›n niteliklerinin art›r›lmas› gerekmektedir.