Integration of international students into a multicultural university educational environment: research results

UDC 378+316.6-054.6
DOI 10.20339/AM.03-26.073

Petr M. Fedorov, Cand. Sci. (Sociology), Associate Professor, Department of Education and Human Resource Management Institute of Economics and Management Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University; St. Petersburg University of Management and Economics; SPIN-code: 6241-3688, Web of Science ResearcherID: AAX-5798-2020, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5427-2763, Google Scholar ID: JrHRK3AAAAAJ, e-mail: 263816@mail.ru

The attractiveness of Russian higher education for international students and the increasing number of such students make it necessary to find effective methods for cross-cultural adaptation in an educational environment that integrates international students. One of the objectives of a sociological study conducted in October 2025 at the Herzen State Pedagogical University (N383) using an online questionnaire was to assess the impact of the university’s educational environment’s alignment with students’ personal characteristics on the success of international students’ cross-cultural adaptation. The sample represents international students and master’s students at the Herzen State Pedagogical Univ. by gender and year of study. The research methodology is based on S.V. Tarasov’s approach to the content and structure of the educational environment, K. Ward’s approach to sociocultural adaptation in the process of cross-cultural adaptation, and G. Triandis’s approach to the stages of the adaptation process. The study was conducted using a combination of methods: online surveys of international students using the author’s methodology and the psychological and sociocultural adaptation scales developed by K.A. Demes and N. Geeraert. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and factor analysis were used to process and analyze the data.

The results of the study demonstrate the positive impact of the university’s educational environment’s alignment with the students’ personal characteristics on the success of international students’ cross-cultural adaptation. However, the impact of individual elements of the educational environment on international students’ adaptation varies.

This study identified factors that influence the success of international students’ cross-cultural adaptation, which will allow us to develop a theoretical model of an integrating educational environment for international students and propose practical tools for cross-cultural adaptation of international students.

Keywords: cross-cultural adaptation, sociocultural adaptation, international students, multicultural educational environment, education management

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