Dr Arzu Kırcal-Şahin

Arzu is the European Institute Research Manager and Contemporary Turkish Studies Research and Administrative Coordinator. She supports research activity across Contemporary Turkish Studies and the European Institute, coordinating research workshops, seminars, and public events, and promoting research through the CTS website and social media channels.

Her role includes communicating research funding opportunities to European Institute academics, managing research budgets (including Staff Research Funds and Research Infrastructure and Investment Funds), and servicing the European Institute Research Committee and the CTS Advisory Board.

Arzu has a diverse academic background, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, a Master of Arts degree in "Management and Labour Psychology", and a PhD in "Labour Economics and Industrial Relations", which she earned in 2021. Her dissertation focused on the international migration of highly educated stay-at-home mothers in the United Kingdom. She has published her Ph.D. thesis as a book entitled "Yüksek Eğitimli Ev Hanımı Annelerin Uluslararası Göçü" (International Migration of Highly Educated Stay-at-Home Mothers), which explores the experiences of highly educated women who move to the UK to support their spouses' careers while balancing their roles as stay-at-home mothers.

Before joining the European Institute, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham, where she worked on the "Inclusion and Work-from-anywhere" project. She has also worked as a lecturer at Brunel University London and an academic coordinator at Koç University in Istanbul.

In her free time, Arzu enjoys outdoor activities like walking and biking, visiting museums and the theater, and traveling. Watching her son grow up and discover the world around him brings her immense joy.

Expertise: International Migration, Motherhood, Gender issues, Qualitative methods, Management at higher education

Ask me about:

• Research Administration
• Research Grants and Funding
• Contemporary Turkish Studies

Publications:

Aca, Z., Kırcal-Sahin, A., Özdemir, A., & Kaymakcı, Y. S. (2025). Gender stereotypes and professional experiences of female nurses in Türkiye. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1538517. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPUBH.2025.1538517

Kircal-Sahin, A. (2023). Yüksek Eğitimli, Ev Hanımı Annelerin Uluslararası Göçü: Birleşik Krallık Örneği. Cinius Yayınları. https://cinius.shop/product/yuksek-egitimli-ev-hanimi-annelerin-uluslararasi-gocu/

Kırcal-Sahin, A. (2022). Migration Experiences of the Highly Skilled and Stay-at-Home Turkish Mothers in the UK. Migration Letters, 19(3), 331–342. https://migrationletters.com/index.php/ml/article/view/1596

Kircal-Sahin, A. (2021). International Migration of Highly Educated, Stay-at-home Mothers: The Case of the United Kingdom. Turkish Area Studies Review (Bulletin of the British Association for Turkish Area Studies), 38(Autumn 2021), 67–71.

Kircal-Sahin, A., & Aytac, S. (2021). International Migration of Highly Qualified Housewife Mothers and Their Career Concerns. International Journal of Business and Management Research, 9(1), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.37391/IJBMR.090107

Kircal-Sahin, A. (2021). Yüksek Eğitimli, Ev Hanımı Annelerin Uluslararası Göçü: Birleşik Krallık Örneği. https://acikerisim.uludag.edu.tr/items/8cdbe07c-2ccb-4a31-8954-3d13314c6b08

Conference Presentations:

Kircal-Sahin, A. (2021). International Migration of Highly Educated, Stay-at-home Mothers: The Case of the United Kingdom. In I. Sirkeci (Ed.), The Migration Conference 2021 Selected Papers (p. 357). Transnational Press London. https://www.tplondon.com/product/tmc-2021-papers/

Kırcal Sahin, A., & Aytaç, S. (2021, May 20). Yüksek Nitelikli Ev Hanımı Annelerin Uluslararası Göçü ve Kariyer Kaygıları. International Congress of Migration Researches (ICOMIR2021). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351869586_Yuksek_Nitelikli_Ev_Hanimi_Annelerin_Uluslararasi_Gocu_ve_Kariyer_Kaygilari