Functional Features of the Cultural Memory of Students in the Multicultural Educational Space of a Modern Russian University

Abstract

This study examines the problem of the development of students’ universal competencies at Russian universities related to the diversity of cultures and the ability to enhance intercultural communication in professional field and everyday communication. The development of this competency is significantly influenced by the content of the cultural memory of students. Modern universities are a multicultural space where various persons and communities with different collective cultural memory interact. The objective of the study is to identify the functional features of the students’ cultural memory at Russian universities that are historically characterised as a multicultural space. The main method involved focus groups and a theoretical interpretation of the data obtained. The results obtained from two focus groups of students from several universities located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory are presented. The total number of focus group participants was 14 bachelor’s and master’s degree students. The focus groups consisted of students belonging to the first- and second-generation migrants from among ethnocultural groups with high ethnodemographic dynamics in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The study showed the need for special programme activities for adaptation and integration of students belonging to the second-generation of migrants into the multicultural university community