Students' Motivations for Choosing Project Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools and Their Career Tendency

Abstract

This research aims to examine the variety of programs and project school applications in Imam Hatip Schools as a new practice, the reasons for the students' choice, and their career tendencies. In the study, quantitative research methods and descriptive survey model were used. A total of 4802 students from 35 Project Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools, which were identified from 22 provinces across Turkey, were surveyed. In our research, the region classification of Turkey by the Turkish Statistical Institute has been benefited from for the determination of the sample provinces to which our survey was to be applied. This research aims to contribute to the variety of programs implemented as a new model in Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools since 2014, and to the on-going works for the project school application that started in 2016. According to the obtained data, family wishes and guidance, the school being a project school, TEOG-LGS examination scores, the desire to having the identity of Imam Hatip Schools, the idea that the school will bring a good university and the demand for good religious education have been identified as the most obvious factors which affect the choices of the students who prefer to study at Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools. In the career orientation of students, they tend to choose more fields related to science and mathematics sciences such as medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, engineering, and architecture.