Fears and Difficulties Experienced by Ukrainian Nationals During Their Period of Study in Poland

Abstract

The overall aim of this study is to review problems relating to the acculturation of Ukrainian students during their initial period of study abroad in Poland. More importantly, our objective was to recognize the fears and difficulties these students experience and examine the strategies of coping with major stressors. Based on group interviews we identified four themes, which mainly related to the language barrier, social isolation, discrimination, and financial issues. Our results show that the main acculturation strategy among the students in our sample was integration rather than assimilation, marginalization, or separation. Our respondents actively sought contacts with the locals, for example, by giving up their living quarters in the socially isolated and remote university campus and renting shared accommodation in the city, which made it possible for them to maintain closer links with their Ukrainian friends and to receive social support while also staying open to establishing relationships with Poles and having more opportunities to improve their Polish. At the same time, these students maintained their contacts with family and friends abroad through the Internet. This study also suggests the ways for higher education institutions to improve the services rendered to international students and to support their integration into a new community.