Purpose: This study examines diaspora engagement and return migration programs aimed at providing diaspora youth with an opportunity to obtain higher education in Estonia and Kazakhstan. In particular, the authors sought to identify the main motivations, benefits and challenges of the programs, as well as understand how the programs contribute to…

Social integration of immigrants into host communities is complicated by their cultural and language differences. The success of the process is determined by government policies and educational effectiveness that focus on socialisation and developing tolerance and intercultural interactions/communications. Using student data collected in…

Kazakhstan's decision to transition its Kazakh language from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet has serious implications for language policy, communication, education, inclusion, and social cohesion. This critical qualitative study, underpinned by a discourse-historical approach, employs critical discourse analysis to analyze statements of…

This paper examines the content of alphabet books published for Russian-speaking children in Latvia, Estonia and Poland in the 1920s and explains the nexus between socio-cultural context and representation of social environment and children's interactions to explore strategies of adaptation offered to children. The textbooks were quantified using…

This study explored how 60 trilingual immigrant youth interpret and make sense of their educational experiences in Israeli schools. Conceptualizing the language knowledge of multilingual individuals as one unitary system, the study is based on the assumption that a fuller understanding of students' educational experiences can be obtained by…

This article presents the results of a study on the relationship of acculturation profiles of Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium, the duration of their stay, and their socio-economic adaptation. The data came from a socio-psychological survey of 132 Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium (first generation) and were processed using latent…

Research data on the dynamics of ethnocultural adaptation of migrant family students in Moscow schools shows a tension between assimilation and retention of one's cultural background. Ethnic differences create barriers between those of Russian and non-Russian ethnicity, including difficulties with language and the widespread phenomenon of…

In this paper, we try to unravel some of the unintended and intended academic effects associated with post-Soviet educational reforms by focusing on three cases: Estonia, Latvia and Russia. We have chosen this comparison because a unique "natural experiment" in the three countries allows us to compare the changing academic performance on…

The issues of social, cultural, and language adjustment and the integration of repatriates into the Kazakhstani society are crucial factors in maintaining a stable society. The complicated process of self-identification of ethnic Kazakhs is a major aspect of their sociolinguistic "penetration" into Kazakh society. In this work we…

This study investigated various roles played by host, homeland, and global media in the lives of immigrant families from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, former USSR) to Israel and Germany, as well as the place of different media in family conflicts, consolidation, and parenting strategies. The study was based on focus group interviews…

Many educators draw the public's attention to the need for diversifying the teaching force. They argue that teachers from diverse cultures offer a variety of perspectives, encourage students to participate in community work, and exhibit cultural awareness and appreciation of differences. One of the ways to diversify the teaching force includes…

This paper is concerned with the impact that public and political discourses on the issues of language and ethnicity in Germany have on integration. It suggests that a combined effect of factors such as the traditional concept of "Germanness", peculiarities of Russian Germans' "cultural identity" and certain aspects of German…

The development of the Russian intelligentsia is closely related to discourses concerning Russia's position vis-a-vis Europe and the Western world, such as those of Slavophiles and Westernisers. This paper is about Russian authors and painters who are now becoming part of Europe, as the country in which they live, Estonia, has recently entered the…

Summarizes the results of a survey documenting language use among the rural and urban populations, educational levels, occupations, and ethnic groups of Kazakhstan. Reveals that efforts to promote Kazakh over Russian have largely failed. Includes a wealth of statistical information on groups and activities within Kazakhstan. (MJP)