Navigating Integration: A Qualitative Exploration of Challenges Encountered by English‑speaking international students in Swedish Higher Education.

Sammanfattning

This study investigates the academic and social integration experience of English‑speaking international students in Swedish higher education. The aim is to explore the academic and social integration challenges faced by English‑speaking international students in Swedish higher education and to examine the coping strategies they employ to manage these challenges. The study used qualitative design based on semi‑structured interviews with thirteen participants. The study draws on an adapted theoretical framework combining Tinto's (1993) Student Integration Model, Berry's (1997) acculturation theory and Smith and Khawaja's (2011) adjustment model. The results indicate that students’ experiences are influenced more by structural constraints, such as fragmented and inconsistent information, ambiguous expectations for classroom engagement and the dominance of Swedish in social settings, than by individual weaknesses. These issues created ambiguity, disengagement and reliance on informal coping mechanisms. The study argues that international student integration should be regarded as an institutional design process, not merely as a student adaption process. The results point to the need for more coherent information channels, greater educational transparency and more inclusive social environment.