DIAGNOSING THE ADAPTIVE NEEDS OF CHINESE STUDENTS IN A RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY AS A FOUNDATION FOR DESIGNING A PEDAGOGICAL SUPPORT MODEL

Abstract

The article addresses a problem of pedagogical support for academic exchanges between Russian and Chinese universities – an issue that, by the mid-2020s, has transcended its status as a mere methodological task and acquired the significance of a strategic factor in the bilateral partnership. The aim of the study is to determine the current state of pedagogical support for Chinese students in a Russian university, based on the findings of a diagnostic ascertaining phase, and to substantiate the structure and content of a comprehensive model for such support. The empirical component of the research was conducted at the HSE University (National Research University Higher School of Economics). The diagnostic phase involved one hundred third-year Chinese undergraduate students and sixty-five faculty members. A battery of validated instruments was employed, including: the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), a modified acculturation scale, an academic engagement questionnaire, egocentric network mapping, content analysis of reflective essays, a faculty survey, and an analysis of institutional documents. The findings indicate that the current state of pedagogical support is characterised by elevated levels of acculturation stress, a deficit in perceived social support, low levels of academic engagement and transcultural identity, as well as institutional deficiencies in terms of human resources, funding, and regulatory frameworks. It is demonstrated that the identified difficulties cluster into four interrelated groups, which collectively provide a rationale for both a criteria-based performance evaluation system and a structural-functional model of pedagogical support. The diagnostic toolkit developed and the empirical results obtained may be of practical interest to both administrative and teaching staff at universities that implement academic mobility programmes with China.