Ever since Azerbaijan's educational system reform to that of the European
standards coupled with the fairly low cost of obtaining a European-style
education, there is an increasing number of international students from
different countries studying in Azerbaijan each year. Despite the fact that
international students face massive challenges while studying away from their
home countries. The purpose of this paper was to uncover challenges faced by
international students in Azerbaijan, their life satisfaction and its overall
impact on the study experience. The data were collected using a mixed-methods research, both qualitative and quantitative tools employed. An
electronic questionnaire was developed and sent to be filled-up by sample
international students studying at different universities in Azerbaijan.
Through one-to-one discussions and focus groups individual experiences were
recorded. Approximately, the total number of 50 plus international students
voluntarily filled-up the questionnaire; 10 universities and about 20 different
nationalities. The data collected were analyzed by excel analytics. The findings reveal that participants widely face challenges in communication, adapting to
the local cuisine, cultural environment and social interaction. Nonetheless, the
overall experience is positive and life satisfaction is skewed towards
satisfaction. For the country to attract more students, an increased focus on
minimizing all the challenges is a must.
Citation:
Koon, E., & Mehdi, M. (2019). Challenges faced by international students and their life satisfaction in Azerbaijan. ASERC Journal of Socio-Economic Studies, 2(2), 136-144. DOI:10.30546/2663-7251.2.2.136