An Investigation of Factors Effective on Foreign Students Educational Problems in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Iran

Background & Objective: Foreign students encounter educational problems which make studying in the host country difficult Given the importance of the educational problems of foreign students and identifying the factors which alleviate these problems this study examined the educational problems of international students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Iran Methods: This was a quantitativequalitative study with a descriptiveanalytical design In the qualitative section interviews were conducted with ۱۴ foreign students and in the quantitative section ۵۶ students were selected through random sampling proportional to sample size Semistructured interviews and a researchermade questionnaire were used to collect information Data analysis was conducted using categorization methods descriptive statistics univariate ttest ANOVA post hoc test and multiple regression in SPSS software Results: In the qualitative section the foreign students educational problems included weakness in understanding Persian different educational system the professors inappropriate teaching method and dissatisfaction with textbooks In the quantitative section the educational problems were not significant at a ۰۰۵ level Moreover the students problems in terms of culture and the length of stay in Iran showed significant differences Conclusion: The results of predictor factors of educational problems revealed that cultural dissimilarity and short presence in Iran are the main predictor factors Therefore in order to motivate learning in foreign students and thereby decrease their educational problems it is necessary to familiarize them with Iranian customs and hold classes to introduce them to the Iranian educational system

Keywords:

Foreign students , Host country , Educational problems , Medical sciences , Iran , Qualitative , quantitative study