Special Aptitude Tests or YKS in Admission to Faculties of Fine Arts? A Study on Student’s Sense of Belonging to School

In the Turkish higher education system, faculties of fine arts stand apart from other faculties in their student admission requirements. While most faculties admit students via the Higher Education Examination (YKS) conducted by OSYM (Student Placement Center), some fine arts faculties have their own special aptitude tests. Debates and changes regarding the entrance exams for fine arts faculties have been ongoing in Turkey. This study examines the sense of school belonging among two different groups of fine arts students: those admitted through the YKS and those through special aptitude tests. It also explores the relationship between such attitudes and several other variables.

The study sample consisted of 202 students from three fine arts faculties in Turkey that admitted students with a YKS score during the COVID-19 pandemic (89 admitted through YKS and 113 special aptitude tests). The Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale (PSSM) was administered to all students to measure their sense of school belonging. In general, PSSM studies conducted with university students have revealed a positive link between the sense of belonging and their training processes. Research data were analyzed according to the variables of gender, age, length of time before deciding to enroll in school, years spent in school, and type of exam in school admission. The results showed that students' sense of school belonging increased with both age and the number of years they spent in school. The most noteworthy result was that students admitted to these faculties through special aptitude tests exhibited a significantly stronger sense of belonging as compared to those admitted via YKS.