Analyzing the social adaptation of international students through active participation in leisure activites: An example of Celal Bayar University

ANALYZING THE SOCIAL ADAPTATION OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS THROUGH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN LEISURE ACTIVITES: AN EXAMPLE OF CELAL BAYAR UNIVERSITY The purpose of this study is to analyze the impacts of active leisure participation on social adjustment of international students: an example of Celal Bayar Univeristy. Leisure benefits of international students are conceptualized by determining participants' conceptions and experiences of active participation in leisure time activities held within the university. The qualitative research method is used in this study since it enables the researcher to reflect the participants' conceptions, point of views, experiences end expectations with respect to the study. The participants of this study is composed of 23 full time international students coming from 10 different countries to make a degree study at CBU and who participated actively in leisure time activities in 2014-2015 education period. The leisure activities have been organized in cooperation with the academicians and students of the School of Physical Education and Sport with the rectorate international office at CBU. The researcher has participated in these activities for monitoring and has made interviews with the international students at the end of each activity. The results and data of the interviews with students are conceptualized with the "acculturation theory", single subject case study method is used for data collection and convenience sampling is used as exampling method Obtained data were changed into prose in computer environment. Then, data were analysed through "Nvivo 11 Pro for Windows" programme. Also, themes of encoded data, matching with each other, were grouped by 2 professionalists. Codes, in which agreement and difference of opinion, are calculated according to Cohenkappa formula. Coherence among encoders are found K= 0.80 as result of reliability calculation. Thus, calculated values show that there is coherence among raters at good level. After the analysis of the data obtained from the personal information forms, demographic findings about the participants have been reached and presented in graphics. The leisure benefits of the students who actively participated in the leisure time activities have been presented under the "social adjustment" theme and participants' point of views are presented under the theme "expectations and demands". In the results section the benefits of leisure participation have been presented under the 3 main thhemes "socio-cultural benefits", "psychologic benefits" and "physiologic benefits" with (10) codes, these codes are as follows; under socio-cultural theme there are 5 different codes "acculturaation (multiculturalism)", "socialization", "sense of belonging", "academic success" ve "friendship network"; under benefits theme there are 4 codes "psychologic support", "excitement", "happiness", "personal development" and under physiologic benefits theme there is "physical well-being " code. Under expectation and demand theme there are "diverse activities", "participation in decision making processes", "joint activities", "promotion", "sustainibility", "social activities", and "publication support" codes. As a result, it has been understood that leisure time activities have impact not only for social adjustment of the international students but it also have impact on physchological and phsiological benefits when they actively participated in those activities. And besides those benefits, the study results show that the international students have demands and expectations from the university in respect to leisure time activities. It can be suggested that the universities should go on organizing various leisure time activities for international students together by taking their needs into account, by involving them into the decison making process and by getting help of recreation and/or sport professionals help for the sustainability and empowerment of the activities. Key words: International students, social adjustment, leisure time activities, recreation, acculturation