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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Alina SchartnerORCiD, Dr Samantha Shields, Chang Liu, Yuxi Liu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© The Author(s) 2026.Despite the growing number of student migrants opting to pursue degrees in newer higher education hubs in the ‘Global South’, research on their adaptation to life and study overseas remains strikingly limited. This mixed-methods study examined the practices of student migrants from India undertaking STEM (science, technology, engineering, medicine) degrees in Kazakhstan. Using qualitative data from life story interviews (N = 10), it explored how they made the decision to study in Kazakhstan and how they exercised agency to navigate adjustment challenges. Drawing on quantitative data from a self-report questionnaire (N = 146), it investigated how subjective wellbeing, and social capital influenced their academic and sociocultural adaptation. The findings demonstrated that student migrants exercise agency in multiple ways, both in academic and everyday life settings, and that subjective wellbeing and social capital are important contributory factors to adaptation. We discuss implications for practice and a future research agenda.
Author(s): Schartner A, Shields S, Mingisheva N, Liu C, Liu Y
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Discover Education
Year: 2026
Volume: 5
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 23/04/2026
Acceptance date: 18/03/2026
Date deposited: 11/05/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2731-5525
Publisher: Springer
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-01422-z
DOI: 10.1007/s44217-026-01422-z
Data Access Statement: The datasets generated and analysed for the current study are not available in a public repository to protect study participant privacy. However, the data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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