Acculturation strategies among international students of English-speaking management programs in Poland

The primary objective of this study was to identify the acculturation strategies employed by international students enrolled in English-speaking management programs in Poland. The study employed two research models: the Tridimensional Acculturation Model developed by Ferguson et al. (2012) and the Relative Acculturation Extended Model (RAEM) proposed by Navas et al. (2005). Both models conceptualize acculturation as a multifaceted and context-dependent process. International students pursuing full-time management study programs exemplify a group susceptible to remote acculturation conditions (Ferguson and Bornstein, 2012). The study was based on in-depth interviews with 19 individuals and was carried out with the use of the Cultural Identity Mapping technique (Ferguson, 2018). Three acculturation strategies employed by students have been identified: separation (an orientation towards the culture of origin while rejecting elements of other cultures), integration (a simultaneous orientation towards two cultures), and multicultural strategy (an orientation towards more than two cultures). The identification of the third strategy contributes to ongoing discussions regarding the limitations of twodimensional acculturation models which fail to encapsulate the increasing complexity and diversity of individuals’ acculturation experiences (e.g., Sam & Ward, 2021; Rudmin, 2006). Finally, remote acculturation turned out to play an important role in the processes associated with the acquisition of the third culture.