Investigation of the Reasons for Preference and Employment Expectations of International Students Studying in the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation in Türki̇ye

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the reasons why international students (ISs) studying in the Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (PTR) departments in Türkiye chose to study in this field and their employment expectations, using sample from one public and two foundation universities inİstanbul. Methods: A total of 564 students were invited to participate in the study. Participants were asked to complete a 12-item questionnaire prepared by the researchers, which assessed their reasons for choosing PTR education in Türkiye and their career plans after graduation. Results: A total of 267 students participated in the study (200 from Turkish-medium programs and 67 from English-medium programs). The most cited reason for choosing to study in Türkiye among both Turkish-and English-medium students was cultural similarity [60% (n=200); 58.2% (n=39), respectively]. Among Turkish-medium students, 50.2% planned to work in Türkiye, and 17.4% planned to return to their home countries. Additionally, 76.1% expressed interest in pursuing graduate studies in Türkiye. Among English-medium students, 28.4% intended to work in Türkiye, and 11.9% planned to return home. In this group, 61.2% stated that they were considering graduate education in Türkiye. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the percentage of students who intended to work or pursue graduate education in Türkiye (p=0.001 and p=0.018, respectively). Conclusion: According to our findings, a significant proportion of ISs, particularly those studying in Turkish-medium PTR programs, intend to work in Türkiye after graduation. This should be taken into account in workforce planning efforts for physiotherapists.