Page 334 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

312 Albert Scherr

knowledge of Canadian history. All residents are granted formally equal politi-
cal and social rights, access to state services and to the labor market. Citizens
and landed immigrants enjoy equal legal status with the exception that only
citizens have the right to vote and stand for office. The socio-economic situation
of immigrants and minorities is quite heterogeneous, resulting from a selective
immigration policy that favors highly qualified workers, and many immigrants
belong to a relatively privileged class. Problems associated with disadvantaged
classes are found most often in the indigenous population (Adam 2002; Geißler
2003: 24). Thus, in contrast to many European countries, Canadian immigrants
are not typically socio-economically disadvantaged, and they do not have lower
than normal rates of success in the educational system.
As in England, Canadian educational policy and pedagogical practice are
multicultural and anti-racist (McLeod 1992; Moodley 1992, 1995). Since 1971
a national policy of multiculturalism has been implemented that aims not only
to understand the cultural backgrounds of immigrants but also to orient and dif-
ferentiate the school curricula accordingly, to the point of adapting styles and
methods of teaching to pupils’ backgrounds. Cultural multiplicity is not reduced
to folkloristic enrichment of the dominant culture nor to helping immigrants to
assimilate successfully. In fact, the goal of having culturally neutral schooling is
fundamentally relativized, and schools are opened to local communities so as to
let all cultural groupings participate in their development.
The educational system of France presents a stark contrast to that of Canada,
and to that of Great Britain, as well. Its guiding principle is not that of social and
cultural diversity but rather the ideal of égalité, the political and legal equality
of all citizens. The republican cast of French immigration and integration policy
shows itself in the conviction that French culture (civilisation) realizes univer-
sal modern values. It postulates that recognition of these values is the foun-
dation upon which social integration, and therefore the relevant educational
concepts and programs, must build (Dubet and Duru-Bellat 2000: 62ff.; Wiev-
iorka 2003: 21). The historical background can be found in the belief of French
political and intellectual elites in their own historical superiority:

At bottom the école publique of Jules Ferry [beginning of the nineteenth century –
A.S.] wanted to open the way to the universal for both children of the mother country
as well those from the colonies. It led the former out of the narrow bounds of their
dialects, their villages and towns, and the latter out of their savagery.
Wieviorka 2003: 23

It follows from the aim of transmitting universal culture that multicultural and
community-oriented education must be strictly rejected. In 2003 this principle
was again invoked in the debate over the wearing of scarves as religious dress in
schools; the winning side argued for the assumed culturally neutral republican
principles, and against allowing culture-specific symbols. These, in contrast to