An analysis of the expansion of higher education in Turkey using the new institutional theory

Like many other countries around the world, Turkey faces challenges in answering the global demand for expanding higher education. In order to do so, Turkey has promoted a rapid expansion of universities since 2006, establishing 58 universities throughout the country at a growth rate of 109%. The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural imperatives of Turkish public universities to determine their organizational model according to the perception of academic faculty members. Using the perspective known as new institutionalism to form the conceptual framework, the study also draws attention to the issues of quality versus quantity and diversity versus homogeneity within Turkey’s higher education system. This study uses mixed methods. Aside from the method of descriptive statistics, the data analysis process also uses the methods of factor analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis. Our analysis shows that, although the number of universities has increased, the quality of universities does not parallel to the growth in Turkey’s higher education system. Regarding the issues of diversity versus homogeneity, new universities represent a highly bureaucratic university model, which makes Turkey’s higher education system isomorphic. © 2017 EDAM.University at Albany, UAlbany: SUNY Council for Higher Education* This research is a part of the doctoral dissertation titled “An Analysis of the Expansion of Higher Education in Turkey Using the New Institutional Theory,” which was presented by Ebru Karataş Acer at Gazi University, Institute of Educational Sciences in 2015. This study also received funding from the Council of Higher Education in Turkey through a visiting-scholar position at the University at Albany (SUNY), Albany, New York, US. An earlier version was presented at the 2nd International Eurasian Educational Research Congress, held by Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey on June 8-10, 2015