Identity of the Chinese Students in the Russian Universities

Abstract

Due to the globalization process, most modern universities international. Russian higher education is also becoming multilingual and multicultural. A multicultural couples with a new academic experience has a significant impact on a new identity formation. Social identity is an individual’s sense of self as a member of a social group through sharing its values and involvement in activities to maintain its existence. Based on the 2017-2018 survey conducted among students from the People’s Republic of China and among university professors and specialists with international student advisory responsibilities, the article argues that an identity serves as a guideline in a self-determination process, helping the individual to cope with an uncertainty in terms of student mobility. A new identity formation plays a significant role in the process of acculturation of foreign students while studying abroad. Chinese students act as representatives of the values, behavioral norms and standards both of the Chinese community and Russian student community as well as the urban community. While studying in Russia, they adjust to formal and informal behavioral practices and develop them reproducing local academic and campus traditions.