The new French: A focus on the children of Algerian descent in the classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to elucidate the connection between the institution of the French educational system and its effects on the new French population (predominately children of Algerian immigrants). This thesis makes the connection between the high school or lycee and the social barriers its "minority" students experience within the school system. By focusing on two broad dimensions of the French school system; its structure and values, this thesis argues that the system produces inequalities amongst its students primarily because of its failure to recognise the multiethnic classroom. By contextualising colonial France in Algeria, this thesis shows the connection between France's unique history and its educational institution as it relates to present day French culture. This thesis shows that the French educational system is so well established in its secular traditions that it no longer meets the needs of its students and consequently produces and reproduces exclusion and otherness.