Home Institution
Macalester College
Publication Date
Fall 2016
Abstract
In 2014 the Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Abroad and Migration Affairs, adopted the National Policy of Immigration and Asylum detailing efforts to realize an adaptive education system, sensitive to migrant education and inclusive of teaching and learning strategies directed towards children of foreign heritage. As migrant networks grow more and more fortified, and people all over the world experience improved mobility, destination countries are finding multicultural and inclusive education systems integral to the wellbeing of its new residents, and the tolerance of its native citizens. Based on the national strategy for immigration and asylum put forth by the Ministry of Migration, this paper aims to explain what ideology/framework is fueling current integrative educational efforts, and how this ideology is influencing the experiences of teachers and students in Morocco. Results were gathered mainly through current reports concerning the state of migrant education published by children’s rights NGOs, and through a series of interviews with the Ministry of Migration, National Center for Human Rights (CNDH), a Moroccan public school teacher, and a site visit to a Moroccan school. Large discrepancies were found in how the Moroccan government approaches migrant education, and current literature on best practices in this field. Integration in this context is often confused with cross-cultural competence; cultural performances like food and dance exhibits suffice in terms of cultural promotion and cross-cultural understanding. And, that educational actions detailed in the National Strategy for Immigration are majorly hindered in Moroccan governance by post-colonial attitudes and development. Suggestions for forwarding migrant education in Morocco include: comprehensive educational reform, especially in the field of teacher training, and a movement away from a national security based education system.
Disciplines
African Studies | Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Education | Education Policy | Multicultural Psychology | Other International and Area Studies | Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Cultural Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Schoenen, Ella, "Migrant Education in Morocco: Cross-Cultural Competence Favored Over Integrative Reform. An analysis of the Moroccan government’s migrant integration efforts through education." (2016). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2481.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2481
Included in
African Studies Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Education Policy Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Program Name
Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity