The Impact of Financial Aid on Social Capital and Academic Engagement in Non-Profit Private and Public Universities in Türkiye

Non-profit private universities, which share costs with students, parents, and donors, and public universities, where a large portion of the costs is covered by the government, provide scholarships to students to reduce inequalities, improve access to education, and ensure equal opportunities in education. The coexistence of cost-sharing and financial aid creates a paradoxical situation, and this study investigates the impact of receiving financial aid on students’ social capital and academic engagement among those attending non-profit private or public universities with different funding structures. An ex post facto (causal-comparative) research design was utilized in the study. The study was carried out with 187 preservice teachers from public university and 102 preservice teachers from non-profit private university where the capital city of Ankara, Turkiye, selected through quota sampling. Data analysis was performed using a two-way MANOVA for unequal sample sizes (2 × 2 sequential approach). As a result of the study, neither university funding structure nor financial aid status produced a significant difference in social capital or academic engagement. However, the interaction between the university and the financial aid variable created a significant effect. Students studying at public universities who did not receive financial aid had lower social capital and academic engagement scores compared to those who did receive them; however, this pattern is not supported by statistically significant differences at non-profit private universities. The findings were discussed in the context of equality of educational opportunity, economic capital, and reducing inequalities.