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JOURNAL OF YOUTH RESEARCHES
The Thoughts of Kirikkale University Students in The Context of Cultural Interaction Under The European Union Education and Youth Programs
Republic of Turkey has not kept away from the movements of changes and developments
in higher education institutions like the Member States of the European Union.
The Republic of Turkey joined the Bologna Process which was signed between EU mem-
ber states in 1999 so as to go into a standardization process in higher education in 2001.
Three years after the signing of the Bologna Declaration by the Republic of Turkey, it has
been decided to implement the Erasmus Program, which enables EU member states to
exchange and cooperate among higher education institutions. The Erasmus program was
implemented in the Republic of Turkey in 2005-2006 academic year with the pilot studies
in the 2004-2005 academic year (YÖK 2010, 66 Soruda Bologna Sureci).
Kırıkkale University has been included in the Erasmus program with the help of taking the
Erasmus Charter in 2004 (Kırıkkale Üniversitesi, Dış İlişkiler ve AB Koordinasyon Birimi,
2016).
In this study, a survey was conducted in the 2015-2016 academic year to Kırıkkale Uni-
versity students benefiting from European Union Education and Youth Programs so as to
determine their thoughts in the context of cultural interaction.
The Purpose and Importance of the Research
The purpose of this research is to make an overall assessment on cultural interaction of
the students who participate in student or placement mobility within the scope of Euro-
pean Union Education and Youth Programs in Kırıkkale University, which has accepted
Erasmus+ University Charter in the European Union membership process on Erasmus+
KA103 Individual Student Mobility in Higher Education.
The aim of the Erasmus program, which has run since 1987, is to increase the quality of
higher education in Europe and to strengthen the European dimension by providing ex-
change and mobility in higher education institutions. It can be claimed that the European
Union’s membership and candidate states meet in the context of these unifying events
and act in accordance with certain standards in a common field. This makes it possible
for intercultural conflicts to leave their place to cultural interaction today. In terms of cul-
tural interaction, the research is about the students participated in Erasmus+ student or
placement program in 2015-2016 academic year at Kırıkkale University and it is thought
that it will make an important contribution as there is not any previous study in the field of
sociological investigation in the sample of Kırıkkale University.
Research Model
This research is a study in the descriptive survey model. The descriptive survey model
describes a general judgment about the universe in an environment composed of a large
