INVESTIGATION OF THE REASONS FOR PREFERENCE AND EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STUDYING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOTHERAPY AND REHABILITATION IN TÜRKİYE

Purpose: To investigate the reasons why international students (ISs) studying in the Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (PTR) departments in T & uuml;rkiye chose to study in this field and their employment expectations, using sample from one public and two foundation universities in & Idot;stanbul. 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 T & uuml;rkiye 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 T & uuml;rkiye 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 T & uuml;rkiye, and 17.4% planned to return to their home countries. Additionally, 76.1% expressed interest in pursuing graduate studies in T & uuml;rkiye. Among English-medium students, 28.4% intended to work in T & uuml;rkiye, and 11.9% planned to return home. In this group, 61.2% stated that they were considering graduate education in T & uuml;rkiye. 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 T & uuml;rkiye (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 T & uuml;rkiye after graduation. This should be taken into account in workforce planning efforts for physiotherapists.