Adaptation of International Students to University Reality in Kazakhstan (on the Example of WKMU)

Jay Kumar Gahwal,Gulmira Nurgaliyeva,Anara Urkunova,Gulzhana Jenalayeva,Aigul Kupenova

doi:10.32996/jhsss.2021.3.5.4

Abstract

One of the most important topics for Kazakhstani universities in the context of internationalization of higher education is the successful adaptation of international students to a university setting. A high level of students' adaptation, socially and psychologically comfortable conditions for them may increase the number of international students in Kazakhstan from the perspective. The article analyzes the main aspects of international students` socio-cultural adaptation at the West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov Medical University, Aktobe, the Republic of Kazakhstan (WKMU). A sociological survey was conducted among the Indian students of the Faculty of General Medicine. Challenges of international students at WKMU include the language barrier, the difference in assessment, and education systems in India and Kazakhstan. A favourable condition for the socio-cultural adaptation of international students at WKMU is the organization of intercultural interaction and cooperation of students in the educational space of the university. The results of the study are offered to be taken into consideration by administrative structures, responsible for supervising international students at the university.

Highlights

1 One of the priority directions in the development of modern higher education in Kazakhstan is the expansion of international cooperation in educational programs
We aimed to determine the peculiarities of international students' adaptation to university reality at the WKMU, which will allow the university administration to manage and organize all forms of international students’ life more reasonable and effective
Based on the results of the study, we assume that Indian international students at the West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov Medical University face challenges at different levels

Summary

Introduction

The accession of the country to the Bologna Declaration in 2003 contributed to the involvement of many Kazakhstani universities in the international educational space. In the context of open educational space, the number of international students studying in Kazakhstani universities is increasing. Studies on the problems of international students’ adjustment to living conditions and education in Kazakhstan are relevant. Investigating this topic is important for a comprehensive review of the problems of interethnic and intercultural interactions that are growing in conditions of intensive international migration in the world. In foreign historiography, international students' adaptation and integration in the new conditions began to be studied from the second half of the twentieth century (Forstat, 1951; Davis, 1960).

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