Multicultural learning environment and academic engagement of foreign doctoral students

This study analyzed the implications of a multicultural learning environment on the engagement of foreign students in doctoral programs. It is a qualitative study conducted with 14 foreign doctoral students from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) in Spain. The results revealed that the learning environment had implications for students' emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and social engagement levels. Additionally, the study identified that UPV provides a multicultural learning environment that fosters the participation of foreign students. Engaged students are more motivated to learn, committed to their studies, meet deadlines, and feel more satisfied and confident in developing their doctoral thesis. Engagement enables a more self-directed and self-regulated learning process, promoting more active participation in the learning environment. Professors and tutors were perceived as key factors in student engagement across the four analyzed dimensions. On the other hand, language was identified as a barrier in the multicultural learning environment, as it hindered social interaction and relationships among students.