Comprehensive model of a mentoring system for the pedagogical support of foreign students’ adaptation to the sociocultural and academic environment of a Russian university

Abstract

The research is devoted to the development, theoretical justification, and empirical testing of a comprehensive model of a mentoring system for the pedagogical support of foreign students’ adaptation to the sociocultural and academic environment of a Russian university, as well as to the quantitative assessment of its effectiveness in terms of academic performance, social integration, psychological comfort, and satisfaction. The relevance is determined by the quantitative growth of the population of foreign students (over 355,000 in 2023) alongside the persistence of high adaptation difficulties (35-40% experience serious problems) and the predominantly fragmented and spontaneous nature of traditional mentoring practices, which lack methodological support and systematic evaluation of effectiveness. The results demonstrate statistically significant superiority of the experimental group: the final average grade is 14,6% higher (4,56 versus 3,98), the share of students without academic debts is +22,5 p,p, (94,3% versus 71,8%), the learning motivation index is 35,2% higher, the increase in the level of integration into the student community is +48,7% (versus +12,4% in the control group), and participation in extracurricular life is +65,3% (versus +18,2%). Correlation analysis revealed strong relationships (r=0.58-0.73) between the intensity of mentoring and academic/motivational indicators, while students’ subjective evaluations range from 4.61 to 4.91 out of 5. The discussion interprets the results through the lens of the synergistic effect: improvement in sociocultural adaptation reduces stress and frees up resources for studying, academic success enhances self-esteem and stimulates social engagement, closing a positive cycle. The model exerts a systemic influence on all points of the adaptive contour, unlike fragmented measures. The conclusions confirm the high effectiveness of the comprehensive block-based model, recommend its scaling in Russian universities with adaptation to local conditions, and outline prospects for digitalization (an IT platform for the automation of diagnostics, pair matching, planning, and feedback).