Neoliberal common sense and short-term study abroad: A critical qualitative inquiry into prospective English language teachers’ discourses and experiences

Download

Emrullah Yasin Çiftçi - PhD Dissertation.pdf

Date

2022-9

Author

Çiftçi, Emrullah Yasin

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

1009
views

734
downloads

In line with neoliberal discourses, most higher education students tend to participate in short-term study abroad (STSA) programs to enrich their CVs, acquire marketable skills, and have fun. On the other hand, STSA programs, such as Erasmus+, can also provide higher education students with novel challenges, triggering them to reflect on issues of power and inequalities. Therefore, these programs can be a valuable experiential and transformative opportunity to prepare prospective English language teachers (PELTs) for a socially just language education. However, STSA programs may not always guarantee transformative outcomes. Considering the scarcity of research in this respect, in this qualitative inquiry, I explored how a cohort of PELTs constructed their Erasmus experiences retrospectively. I also investigated how they framed their imagined futures and interpreted major global challenges. Having analyzed a qualitative data set through a thematic analysis process, I drew four conclusions. First, the participants constructed their STSA experiences primarily based on the neoliberal conceptions of STSA. Second, they framed their imagined futures largely through neoliberal discourses. Third, they addressed major global challenges with strong critiques. Fourth, they demonstrated some examples of critical thinking and actions in their STSA constructions and imagined futures. That is, despite the prevalence of neoliberal elements in their constructions and framings, they were not entirely passive servants of the neoliberal common sense. Therefore, I suggested that PELTs could be receptive to exploiting transformative opportunities in STSA programs. To stimulate further research and practice in that regard, I offered an intervention framework and several attendant recommendations.

Subject Keywords

Neoliberalism, Study Abroad, Erasmus, Language Teacher Education, Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Neoliberalizm, Yurt Dışında Eğitim, Dil Öğretmeni Eğitimi, Düşünümsel Tematik Analiz

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/99373

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Intercultural engagement and relatedness: Examining mediation effects Kagitcibasi, Cigdem; Kisbu-Sakarya, Yasemin; Aydoğdu, Ezgi (2017-11-01) Most research on student sojourners has studied students coming from the Majority World to Western countries, especially the United States, for undergraduate and graduate education. Though increasing greatly in numbers, shorter sojourn has not been the focus of attention. With regard to the adjustment of sojourners, research has tended to stress situational factors rather than personality. This study is different in terms of focusing on short term educational sojourn of Western students in a Majority World ...
Intercultural Sensitivity Orientations Prior to Short-Term Study Abroad: A Qualitative Study on Prospective English Language Teachers Çiftçi, Emrullah Yasin; Gürbüz, Nurdan (2019-06-01) Short-term study abroad programs can contribute to the multidimensional development of prospective language teachers. However, participants' intercultural sensitivity orientations prior to the mobility period can significantly influence the quality and quantity of the outcomes gained from such programs. Therefore, in this qualitative case study, we explored the intercultural sensitivity orientations of a cohort of prospective language teachers from Turkey who prepared to study at three different universitie...
Moving STEM Beyond Schools: Students' Perceptions about an Out-of-School STEM Education Program Baran, Evrim; BİLİCİ, SEDEF CANBAZOĞLU; Mesutoğlu, Canan; Ocak, Ceren (2016-01-01) Recent reports call for reformed education policies in Turkey in accordance with the need to develop students' knowledge and skills about STEM education and improving STEM workforce in the country. This research implemented an integrated out-of-school STEM education program for 6th grade students who come from disadvantaged areas in a large urban city in Turkey. The study investigated students' perceptions about the STEM activities implemented in the program. Forty 6th grade students (15 female) studying in...
Governmental Supports for Students in Turkey: Beneficiary Perspective on the Use of Financial and Social Support in Higher Education Kondakçı, Yaşar; Oldaç, Yusuf İkbal; Şenay, Hanife Hilal (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018-01-01) Providing financial and social supports to students is a common policy practice in many countries. Scholarships and basic services (food, accommodation, transportation, free health services etc.) are the most common supports provided to students. Particularly developing countries which follow quantitative growth policies in higher education need more comprehensive student support systems. In developing countries both access to higher education and maintenance of the higher education degrees is a challenging...
Exloring the Effect of Erasmus Program on Cultural Intelligence of University Students Gökten, Özge; Emil, Serap (Hacettepe University, 2019-07-01) The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative research was to investigate the difference between cultural intelligence of university students who have participated in Erasmus Student Mobility program and of those who have not, while their personality trait "openness to experience" is controlled. Data were collected from 450 students at a public university in Ankara studying in different disciplines and at varying grade levels through survey: Cultural Intelligence Scale, and Openness to Experience sub-...

Citation Formats

E. Y. Çiftçi, “Neoliberal common sense and short-term study abroad: A critical qualitative inquiry into prospective English language teachers’ discourses and experiences,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2022.