Tolerance as a factor for adaptation of international students from Asian countries in the Urals region

Every year the number of international students in Russian universities increases. Consequently, the problem of their socio-psychological and cultural adaptation is becoming increasingly obvious. This necessitates the detailed research of the process of adaptation and cultural integration of this category of students. The research conclusions are based on theoretical and methodological approaches to the issues of tolerance, adaptation and cultural integration of international students, international and Russian research data, including regional experience. The aim of the research is to study the current state, level and degree of adaptation of international students from Asian countries to the new socio-cultural environment of the region. The empirical base of the research was formed by the data of sociological research conducted by the author’s team independently. In April-June 2021, 2062 respondents aged over 18 years (N = 2062) were personally interviewed. The study involved the local population of the Chelyabinsk region (large cities scale: Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Miass, Zlatoust, Kopeysk urban districts; medium and small towns scale (municipal districts): Verkhneufaleisky, Chebarkul, South Ural, Ust-Katav urban districts, Korkinsky and Kaslinsky municipal districts; rural areas scale: Krasnoarmeisky, Varnensky, Kunashaksky, Verkhneuralsky municipal districts). In addition, the authors interviewed 54 international students of South Ural State University with the average duration of 90 minutes. The development of research tools as well as data processing of interview results of international students were based on L. V. Yankovsky’s methodology. The results of the study showed a high level of tolerance among students of the South Urals, their willingness to accept representatives of different ethnicity and culture in their environment, which is in turn, a key factor for the successful adaptation of international students from Asian countries in Russia.