TITLE:
A Relational Integration Study: African Immigrant Students in Ankara
AUTHORS:
Müzeyyen Aytül Kasapoğlu
KEYWORDS:
Relational Sociology, Relational Integration, Grounded Theory Methodology, African Students, Migration, Türkiye
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.12 No.8,
August
21,
2025
ABSTRACT: The research presented in this article addresses the limited opportunities for immigrants in Türkiye, and specifically African students, to integrate into society. Therefore, the main research question was “How can the relational integration of some African higher education students living in Ankara be achieved?” The aims of this article, or the questions it attempts to answer, are as follows: 1) What are the reasons students choose higher education in Türkiye? 2) What are the main difficulties students experience? 3) What strategies do they develop to solve these issues? 4) What are their future plans? 5) Can the “Relational Integration Model” be an alternative for students’ inclusion and integration into society? Data collected through interviews were analyzed using “Grounded Theory Methodology”, first using open and then axial coding. The findings, presented through figures, revealed that immigrant students are stigmatized and excluded from society. However, they also demonstrated that they succeeded in staying in Türkiye by developing various strategies. While the research highlights the importance of relational sociological analyses, it also demonstrates that much more progress needs to be made in relational integration. In this context, it has become clear that the social, cultural, and class inequalities prevalent in Türkiye also impact the inclusion and exclusion of students.