An examination of institutionalization of newly established state universities in Turkey

The purpose of the current study was to determine the institutionalization level of the new state universities established in Turkey (2006, 2007 and 2008) and to investigate the challenges faced in the process of institutionalization. It was also aimed to explore under which pressures (coercive, imitative and normative) the universities institutionalize in the process of institutionalization. This research is a descriptive study designed using the survey method. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in the research. In addition, sequential research method was employed. This is because quantitative data were collected at first, and then qualitative research methods were used to obtain information-rich data. The sample of quantitative research was composed of university instructors working at newly established universities in 2006, 2007 and 2008. A total of 630 instructors participated in the research in the 2012-2013 academic year. For the qualitative research, the participants were selected via the use of maximum variation sampling technique. To determine the sample for the qualitative research, one university was chosen from among 50-99, one from 100-199, one from 200-299, one from 300-399 and one from 400-499 scoring categories in accordance with URAP's university rankings respectively. The sample of the qualitative research was comprised of 45 instructors working in the selected universities. To collect quantitative data, "University Institutionalization Scale" (UIS) was used. The University Institutionalization Scale consisted of responsibility, objectiveness, cultural power, formalization and adequacy of resources dimensions, five dimensions in total. To collect qualitative data, a semi-structured interview form was used. The University Institutionalization Scale was sent to the instructors working at the selected universities via e-mail, and thus data were collected. Arithmetic means and standard deviations of the data were calculated based on total scores. Qualitative data were collected via interview technique. Content analysis was run in the analysis of the qualitative data. In the research, it was found that the state universities that were established in 2006, 2007, 2008 institutionalized at a moderate level in the responsibility, objectivity, cultural power, formalization and adequacy of resources dimensions, which meant that they were in the process of institutionalization. The state universities institutionalized at the highest level in the "responsibility" dimension and at lowest in the "adequacy of resources" dimension. The challenges that state universities faced most were lack of personnel, no support for scientific studies, problems related to features of the cities the universities are located in, assignments based on ideological relationships, being unable to resolve conflicts, being unable to form an organizational culture, lack of an orientation program, tasks' being unclear and not transparent, inadequacy of libraries and inadequacy of social facilities. Furthermore, it was concluded that the state universities were under coercive, imitative and normative pressures in the process of institutionalization. Some implications were discussed in the light of the research findings and solutions recommended by the participants. Key words: Institutionalization, University, Instructors