University Students' Attitudes Towards Immigrants: The Case of Kırıkkale University

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the attitudes of university students towards immigrants. The study group of the research consisted of first- and fourth-year students of Kırıkkale University Faculty of Health Sciences, Departments of Child Development, Nursing and Social Work who can carry out professional studies with immigrants (children, disabled, sick, elderly, etc.) when they graduate. A total of 322 students from Child Development (62), Nursing (161) and Social Work (99) departments participated in the study. Socio-demographic Information Form and Negative Attitudes Towards Immigrants Scale were used to collect the data. Data were collected through Google forms according to voluntary participation. SPSS (22), a statistical analysis package program for social sciences, was used to analyze the data. In the study, it was understood that 72.57% of the participants had negative attitudes towards immigrants. Negative attitudes are mostly directed towards Syrian immigrants, followed by Afghan immigrants. In addition, women and singles have a relatively more positive attitude towards immigrants; participation in activities such as migration-oriented courses during undergraduate education and having immigrant friends relatively support the positive attitude towards immigrants. It was concluded that the presence of religious and spiritual sensitivity reduces negative attitudes towards immigrants.