Entre passé et présent : la gestion de la pluralité culturelle dans les politiques éducatives en Grande-Bretagne

Abstract

Between past and present : the management of cultural diversity in Great Britain’s education policy This article examines the possible links between the British historical pattern of colonisation, and present-day strategies to deal with the consequences of immigration, particularly in the field of education. Comparisons are made withe the French case. In both countries, colonial history has shaped for a long time the relationships between the ex-empires and their ex-subjects. The legitimization of colonial rule has required the framing of a rhetorical and political architecture. In spite of its mythical nature, it still plays a prominent role in the perception of the stakes of immigration to day, as well as in the conception of how to cope with cultural diversity within the national society, particularly in the schools. The opposition between the French «direct rule» and the British «indirect rule» seems to perpetuate itself in the opposition between republican discourse and multiculturalism.