Introduction. For the successful implementation of the ideas of multicultural education in college, it is necessary to develop the educational environment in the institution, which is the interaction of the cultural and intercultural component in the relationship between students belonging to different ethnic and social groups. The problem of creating and developing a multicultural educational environment is closely related to the problem of tolerance formation in the relations between the subjects of the educational process.

The term “tolerance” in Latin means “patience” and tolerant attitude to a different worldview and lifestyle. This is stated by
V.M. Sokolov, arguing that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the concepts of “tolerance” and “patience” (in the social sense). Toleration (tolerance) is a certain ideological and moral-psychological attitude of the individual to the extent to which he should accept or should not accept various, especially alien ideas, customs, culture, norms of behavior, etc. The main essence of the concept of “tolerance” is toleration to “alie”, “other”. 

Patience, in the author's opinion, is a level, a psychological threshold of perception by a person of unfavorable social, spiritual and other influences, above which he loses mental and volitional stamina and is capable of unpredictable actions (Sokolov, 2003: 54).

It should be taken into account that the essence of “alien” and "other" should not mean ideas, morals, behavior that can lead to imminent degradation and destruction of the social and spiritual.

Turkish scientists H. Türe, A. F. Ersoy note that the concepts of “toleration” and “tolerance” are not interchangeable terms, that is, toleration does not interfere with the views, beliefs and actions of others, including ways to tolerate them. With toleration, one does not have to understand the opposite of the person and hear what he hears; but he is trying to come to terms with it. Tolerance should not be a one-way communication, that is, one should not be tolerant and the other tolerable. Toleration for misconduct can lead to distortion of information. A generation that grows with the awareness of the need for rational and equitable tolerance rather than unlimited toleration will build a more civilized society (Türe, Ersoy, 2014: 33-34).

Therefore, it is important to determine the limits of tolerance. According to the Turkish scientist I. E. Başaran, tolerance can only develop in conditions of democratic governance, that is, if there is no tolerance for actions aimed at eliminating, prohibiting, limiting the freedom of thought, thinking, conscience, will and action, then there can be no tolerance for such phenomena as deprivation of rights, war and struggle of people for centuries (Başaran, 1995: 48-49).

Therefore, in the context of a multicultural educational environment, one can operate with the category of tolerance, but not with the category of toleration, and, moreover, not with the concept of patience. Tolerance is considered as the recognition by a person of the equalities and equal rights of all ethnic and social groups that create a single community and, at the same time, as an awareness of their ethnicity, the ability to engage in intercultural dialogue with people of other ethnic cultures.

A multicultural environment is characterized by coexistence of two or more ethno-cultural groups in one community that systematically interact. In a multicultural society, a person, being a representative of a certain ethnic culture, enters into relationships with representatives of other ethnic groups throughout the entire life cycle, encountering their system of ethnic values.

Main part. The purpose of our study is to identify and describe the characteristics of multiculturalism as a property of the educational environment.

Theoretical basis and methodology. The question of a multicultural educational environment is of interest to many Russian and foreign researchers, and each new study brings its specificity to this concept. I.V. Kolokolova believes that a multicultural educational environment consists in the ability to respond quickly to emerging educational needs of society and man, and to facilitate their successful adaptation to non-cultural conditions through education (Kolokolova, 2001).

T.V. Poshtareva considers the multicultural educational environment as a part of the educational environment of the educational institution, which is a set of conditions that affect the formation of a personality, ready for effective intercultural interaction, preserving its ethnic identity, seeking to understand and respect other cultures and communities, able to live in world agreement with the representatives of other nationalities (Poshtareva, 2009).

According to the conclusions of
N.A. Rachkovskaya and S.A. Serovetnikova, the category of a multicultural educational environment is associated with the creation of specific conditions in an educational institution, aimed at the assimilation by students of knowledge not only about their native, but also about other cultures, the formation of certain competencies for successful cooperation with representatives other cultures, their internalization of the values of humanism and tolerance (Rachkovskaya, Serovetnikova, 2014: 35).

V.M. Kurtvapova regards the multicultural educational environment as a multinational, multicultural environment of participants in an educational organization, including pedagogical conditions, situations, a system of relations between persons united by the community of pedagogical and educational activities that influence the formation of a person who is ready for effective intercultural interaction (Kurtvapova, 2017: 50-54).

Romanian researcher M. Condruz-Băcescu in his article “Managing a multicultural environment” notes that “understanding and correct interpretation of various forms of partner behavior promotes mutual understanding and good cooperation in a multicultural environment.” According to the author, the most important factors for successful cooperation in a multicultural environment are:

− knowledge of the culture of representatives of other ethnic groups, meaning recognition of the existence of differences between cultures;

− respect and rapprochement with a foreign culture, projecting acceptance of their differences without any judgment. It is not possible to claim that a particular culture is perfect, better than another culture (Condruz-Băcescu, 2010: 89-91).

According to foreign researchers, such as M. J. Herskovits (Herskovits, 1958), J. Berry (Berry, 1990), M. Byram (Byram, 2001), the sources of emerging problems in society do not lie in culture, but in scientific and practical approaches to studying the features of intercultural interaction. At the moment, changes in the system of values and educational goals in multicultural communities have begun to be widely discussed in the global educational space. Therefore, the formation of multicultural students outside the process of creation and development of the multicultural environment in the educational organization is not possible.

Multicultural educational environment contributes to the formation and development of mutual understanding and interaction between the subjects of the educational process. The creation of such an environment allows students to understand the cultural values of their own and other peoples, to form an experience of intercultural interaction, tolerance, the ability to conduct intercultural dialogue and adapt in a multinational environment.

In the framework of our study, the concept of “multicultural educational environment” is applied to the College of Humanities. Considering the fact that the subject of the study is the multicultural environment of a modern professional educational organization, it is necessary to determine the goals of an educational institution, that is, of the College of Humanities, which should be aimed at developing students' professional and personal qualities, which are one of the factors of professional readiness, creating conditions for students to learn ethnic identity, the adoption of common national values, the development of skills and productive interaction with native ethnic
cultures.

Materials and research methods. In order to identify the characteristics of the multicultural nature of the educational environment, we conducted a study at the Petropavlovsk College of Humanities after Magzhan Zhumabaev. (The Republic of Kazakhstan).

Vocational education in the Republic of Kazakhstan is conducted in two languages (Kazakh and Russian) and, accordingly, the groups are divided into “Kazakh” and “Russian”. The study was organized in the college where there are groups with Kazakh and Russian languages of instruction. At the Petropavlovsk College of Humanities after Magzhan Zhumabaev, departments do not specialize in vocational training profiles, as in many colleges of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but according to the language (groups with the Kazakh and Russian languages of instruction).

The research methods were the expert assessment method and the contingent valuation method (oral survey). Prerequisites and methodological foundations for the use of expert methods are presented in the scientific works of such scientists as G.G. Azgaldov (Azgal'dov, 1980), S.D. Beshelev, F.G. Gurvich, (Beshelev, Gurvich, 1980). To obtain the final result (expert assessments), individual and collective assessment is used, taking into account the advantages of the expert method.

We have chosen a collective assessment based on the use of the collective opinion of experts. Collective expert assessment determines the weighted average of the individual assessments of experts. An expert is a competent person who has in-depth knowledge of the subject or object of study. In our study, the experts are students of “Kazakh”, “Russian” groups and teachers of the College of Humanities after M. Zhumabaev, since they are all subjects of the educational process in a multicultural educational environment. The subjects of the educational process can contribute to changing the external environment and their own personality. Therefore, it is important to consider every opinion about assessing multiculturalism as a property of the educational environment of a college.

The algorithm of actions of the method of expert evaluation is as follows:

– determining the components of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the College;

– forming expert groups;

– conducting an expert survey;

– summing up the obtained expert assessments, interpreting the results.

In determining the components of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college, we rely on the scientific works of Yu.A. Karyagina (Karyagina, 2006: 11-12), E.O. Vavilova (Vavilova, 2013), who consider multiculturalism as a personality quality and determine several components in its structure: tolerance, cross-cultural literacy, the culture of interethnic communication and cultural identity of a person.

Multiculturalism is a personality trait based on cultural self-identification, a positive attitude of a person to cooperate with representatives of different cultures, a common culture, manifested in respect for another culture, awareness and overcoming negative cultural stereotypes (Makazhanova, 2019: 58-62).

In the framework of our study, in order to identify and describe the characteristics of multiculturalism as a property of the educational environment, we consider the following components as components of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college:

– the community of all college activities;

– readiness for intercultural interaction in the team;

– respect and tolerance for representatives of a different nationality in communication among college students;

– a student's awareness of belonging to a particular ethnic group.

Each component is evaluated by experts on a four-point scale: 1 − not inherent, 2 −inherent in a weak degree, 3 − inherent in a certain degree, 4 − inherent in a greater degree (the average score is indicated in the diagnosis). Expert scores characterize subjective opinions about multiculturalism as a property of the educational environment.

Initial information for processing the results of the survey is evaluations expressing the preferences of experts. To obtain an arithmetic average score for the four components of multiculturalism in the educational environment, it is necessary to summarize the scores of all experts and divide the result by the number of experts.

Expert information is both quantitative and qualitative. In this study, we used the quantitative method of expert assessments, where the expert indicates the numerical value of the indicator for the estimated components of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college. But this method, with all the accuracy and detail of the formulation of a scientific problem, has its drawbacks - the inability to obtain wider information about the real reality of the phenomenon under study. Therefore, in combination with the method of expert assessments, we used an oral survey, which makes it possible to obtain the most realistic picture of the phenomenon, which cannot be obtained in a quantitative analysis.

We have adapted and conducted a survey compiled by Yu.V. Emelianenko (Emel'yanenko, Butrim, Gorbatyuk, 2017), which includes questions about intercultural relations of students in a multicultural educational environment.

The sample included 30 respondents - students of the College of Humanities and 15 teachers. In the course of analyzing the results of the method of expert assessments and oral questioning, classification of the students was carried out by groups of the language of instruction. Among the respondents, two subgroups were identified:

– The first subgroup included students studying in Russian (15 students). Ethnic composition: Kazakhs − 30%, Russians − 49%, Germans − 6%, etc. − 15%.

– The second subgroup consisted of students studying in the Kazakh language (15 students). This subgroup included: Kazakhs − 96%, Tatars − 2%, Belarusians − 2%.

In order to identify teachers' awareness of the relationship among students of the two departments and their multicultural level, we created a third subgroup consisting of teachers (15 respondents) teaching students in groups with Russian and Kazakh as the language of instruction.

Research results and discussion. According to the results of the method of expert assessments, it was revealed that the sintensity of the multicultural educational environment of the college has an average level, which is confirmed by the following indicators:

– the average score for the first component – “the community of all activities held in college” – is 3.1 points (average level);

– the average score for the second component is “readiness for intercultural interaction in the team” - 3.3 points (average level);

– the average score for the third component is “respect and tolerance for representatives of a different nationality in communication among college students” – 3.5 points (average level);

– the average score for the fourth component is “the student’s awareness of his belonging to a certain ethnic group, knowledge of his native language and culture” – 3.1 points (average level).

The arithmetic average score for the four components of multiculturalism in the educational environment is – 3.2 points (average
level).

When analyzing the data of the method of expert assessments, we recorded a difference in the assessment of the multicultural components in the educational environment of the college by experts (students of “Kazakh”, “Russian” groups and teachers) (Fig.).

When assessing the components of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college, the following difference was revealed between groups of experts:

– for the first component of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college, the assessment of students of “Kazakh” groups is 2.1 points (low level), the difference in assessment of students of “Russian” groups and teachers is insignificant and ranges from 3.6 to 3.8 points (average level);

– according to the second and third component of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college, the difference in the assessment of students of “Kazakh”, “Russian” groups and teachers is in the range from 3 to 3.7 points (average level);

– for the fourth component of multiculturalism in the educational environment of the college, the assessment of teachers is 2.5 points (low level), the difference in the assessment of students of the “Kazakh” and “Russian” groups is in the range from 3.2 to 3.7 points (average level).

According to the results of the method of expert assessments, there was a need to clarify intercultural relationships among students. To the question “How close is the relationship among students studying in the Kazakh and Russian groups?” 30% of the representatives of the groups with the Russian language of instruction, 60% - with the Kazakh language of instruction have close relations with students of other departments (Russian and Kazakh departments).

During the study, we tried to identify the reasons for the lack of relationships among students of the two departments of the College of Humanities. As it turned out, the respondents saw them in the following:

Answers of the students with the Russian language of instruction:

– there is no possibility of acquaintance with students of “Kazakh” groups;

– neglect on the part of students of “Kazakh groups”, put themselves above us;

– there is no desire and nothing connects us with them;

– language barrier (many students do not know the Kazakh language).

Answers of students with the Kazakh language of instruction:

– there is no reason to meet;

– we have only competition with the students of the “Russian groups”;

– nothing connects us with them;

– I do not like that the students of the “Russian” department do not speak the state language;

– language barrier (some students do not speak Russian).

In the reasons given that impede the close dialogue between the students of the two departments of the College of Humanities, there is clearly a confrontation between the groups “with the Kazakh and Russian languages of instruction” expressed by the reluctance to communicate with each other, dividing into “ours” and “aliens”, lack of knowledge of the language (most students of “Russian groups” do not speak Kazakh). The lack of knowledge of languages (Kazakh and Russian) by students of the two departments in one multicultural community becomes one of the main disconnecting factors.

Conclusions. 1. In order to identify the characteristics of the multicultural nature of the educational environment, we conducted a study in the state educational establishment “Petropavlovsk College of Humanities after Magzhan Zhumabaev”. According to the diagnostic results using the method of expert assessment, it turned out that students of “Kazakh” groups have more pronounced awareness of ethnicity than in “Russian” groups. Relations with representatives of other cultures based on respectful and tolerant attitude, readiness for intercultural interaction are of great interest for students with the Russian language of instruction. This circumstance proves the presence of multiculturalism as a personality trait among students of groups with the Russian language of instruction, since each such group is a multicultural community, requiring tolerant behavior in intercultural relations from the student.

2. Evaluation of the components of multiculturalism in the educational environment of students of “Kazakh” and “Russian” groups does not correspond to the expected results of college teachers. According to the teachers, in the College of Humanities there are enough events aimed at bringing students of the two departments closer together and there are close relationships among students of the two departments based on respectful and tolerant relations.

3. Summarizing the respondents' comments on the survey, we can conclude that in the College of Humanities, where the departments specialize by the language of instruction (departments with the Kazakh and Russian languages of instruction), students are distinguished on the grounds of “Kazakh” and “Russian” groups. The main reasons for the lack of close contacts among students of the “Kazakh” and “Russian” groups were identified: the language barrier (most students of the “Russian” groups do not speak the Kazakh language and some students of the “Kazakh” groups do not speak Russian) and the lack of common interests.

In order to develop the idea of a multicultural educational environment of the college, there was opened the “Miras” Center, where English study group is organized, open lessons, extra-curricular activities are held to create a trilingual environment. According to the results of the diagnostics of students of the College of Humanities, it was revealed that there is no positive dynamics in the relationship among students of the two departments. There are not enough activities in this college aimed at bringing students of the two departments closer together, and therefore it is necessary to improve the model of a multicultural educational environment.

A modern college is an important social institution where the formation of a tolerant culture of the subject of the educational process in an organized multicultural educational environment should take place. In this case, the student is the subject of the educational process, who, by regulating his behavior, can contribute to a change in the external environment and his own personality. Therefore, the response of each respondent to the question of how to strengthen the relationship between students of the two departments of the college is important to us.

Students of the two departments show a desire to improve intercultural relations among themselves and offer interesting options for cohesion of a multicultural community in the College of Humanities. When developing a program of multicultural education in the college, it is necessary to take into account the wishes of students who believe that holding joint events of the two departments can have a positive impact on the relationship of students within the College of Humanities:

– after-school events: trainings, concerts, discussions, excursions, trips, round-table meetings to discuss common problems, acquaintance with cultures of other nationalities, etc.;

– some classes: physical education, English, basic military training, etc.;

– in-depth study of languages (Kazakh, Russian and English);

– not dividing college departments into “Kazakh” and “Russian”.

4. The results of the study revealed the need for a reorganization of the management system of the College of Humanities, which currently does not contribute to the development of close intercultural relations between students of the two departments (department with the Kazakh and Russian languages of instruction), while it does not satisfy the urgent need to form a contingent of students of college departments by specialties, not the language of instruction. The reorganization of the management system of the College of Humanities should promote a favorable existence for students in a multicultural educational environment, improve the quality and competitiveness of future teachers at the national level, harmonize the interests and values of subjects of educational institutions, and interaction between subjects within and outside the educational institution.

A wide range of specialties at the College of Humanities allows us to divide the departments of an educational institution into specialties, not according to the language of instruction, as it was before. To separate the departments by specialty, we suggest classifying them as follows:

– Department of “Preschool education and training”, qualifications: 0101013 “Educator of preschool organizations”, 0101033 “Educator of preschool organizations with knowledge of the English language”;

– “Primary education” department, qualifications: 0105013 “Primary education teacher”, 0105083 “Primary education teacher with knowledge of English”, 0105104 “Applied bachelor of primary education”, 0105043 “Teacher of self-knowledge”;

– Department “Basic secondary education: Philology”, qualifications: 0111013 “Teacher of the Kazakh language and literature”, 0111083 “Teacher of a foreign language”, 0111023 “Teacher of the Russian language and literature”;

– Department of “Mathematics and Information Systems”, qualifications: 0111113 “Teacher of mathematics with knowledge of the English language”, 1305011 “Designer”, 1304012 “Computer Operator”;

– “Music education and socio-cultural activity” department, qualifications: 0108013 “Music teacher in organizations of preschool and primary secondary education”, 0403013-1 “Leisure teacher-organizer, head of the dance group”, 0501013 “Social work specialist”.