GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF FOREIGN STUDENTS' ADAPTATION IN RUSSIA

Abstract

In the face of growing risks in Russia's demographic situation, the attraction of foreign students to higher education institutions is seen as an important resource for replenishing the human capital. The article analyzes the dynamics and geography of the origin of foreign students in Russia. It reveals the main trends in the distribution of foreign students by sending countries, as well as the territorial disparity of Russian regions in terms of foreign students' enrollment. The prestige of Russian universities is quite high for natives of Asian and African countries. The geography of migration flow in metropolitan and large regional universities is quite diverse. However, in smaller regional universities, foreign students from one country prevail. Regional universities enroll students with lower school-leaving examination' scores compared to metropolitan universities. An increasing share of foreign students in regional universities is obvious. Based on the data collected during focus groups and narrative interviews in several Russian universities, the country specifics of decision-making in choosing Russia for education were identified, as well as the ways and forms of adaptation processes and possible trajectories of life after graduation. The analysis of the empirical material made it possible to identify five main behavioral models of international students' adaptation. The models took into account countries of origin, daily experience and social interaction with the host community. The most promising "demographic resource" is students from the Central Asian countries. An expert survey based on semi-structured interview of university staff working with international students in six regions of Russia allowed clarifying the main problems and identifying ways to solve them. The hottest challenges of foreign students' adaptation are poor language proficiency and inadequate intercultural communication skills.