International student migrants from Asian countries: features of their ethnic identity and acculturation strategies

Abstract

Ethnic identity as the main type of social identity and a key component of ethnic self-consciousness is the main regulator of ethnic interaction between international students and the host society. The harmonious ethnic identity’s formation is associated with the choice of acculturation strategy and directly affects the health and self-realization of the student’s personality in the learning process. The purpose of this research is to study the features of the content of the Asian students’ ethnic identity in the process of their contact with the new culture, as well as to determine the interconnectedness between the international student migrants’ ethnic identity and their acculturation strategy. The study involved 173 international students from East and Central Asia studying at universities in Siberia (Russia). The research methods included a questionnaire (survey), the method of ethnic identity studying developed by J. Phinney, and the framework for measuring acculturation strategies by J. Berry. Features and differences of international student migrants’ acculturation from the Central Asia countries and China are revealed. Students from the Central Asia countries have a positive ethnic identity (Mn=40,89), and the most frequent acculturation strategy is separation (Mn=8,91). International students from China are characterized mostly by having marginalization (Mn=8,89) as their acculturation strategy. The results of the present study can indicate the value and semantic orientations’ transformation in the new conditions of life and settlement.