Adjustment or Inclusion?

Abstract

With the increasing focus on the internationalization of higher education, universities are actively developing student mobility. This paper examines the challenges experienced by domestic and international students who adapt to a Russian English-medium instruction university. A mixed-method approach with interviews and surveys was utilized to specify, evaluate, and discuss the students’ internationalization experiences in these educational settings. The results indicated that both groups of students mentioned different aspects of language barriers, friendship networks, and university social life as the most critical areas for adjustment. Furthermore, social integration varied, internationals being more socially integrated than locals. The specific finding of the Russian educational landscape is that there are no differences between domestic and international students with regard to academic integration. All of this suggests institutions to adopt more student-oriented adaptation mechanisms, informed by the concept of inclusion in education; these implications are discussed.