What this lesson teaches
I can explain what an assimilationist policy is and the tensions it can cause.
Syllabus K336, Issue 2, Guiding Question 3, Citizens and government responding to socio-cultural diversity. Assimilationist policy and its tensions
Make a guess
In 2004, France banned conspicuous religious symbols, such as headscarves and turbans, in state schools. How do you think some minority students felt?
- Pleased, because students now looked more alike at school.
- Unaffected, because the law covered all religions equally.
- Excluded, as if accepted only by giving up their practices.
Show the answer
Excluded, as if accepted only by giving up their practices.
Assimilation seeks unity through sameness. Critics said the law excluded students whose religion was part of their identity.
An assimilationist policy expects minority groups to adopt the main culture and give up parts of their own.
Assimilation aims for unity through sameness. It expects minorities and newcomers to adopt the dominant culture and set aside their own language or customs. The dominant culture is the one with most influence. Norms are the expected ways of behaving.
The idea is that a shared language, practices and public identity will build a common national identity and make taking part more equal. Policies differ in how strongly they push or require people to change.
Tension arises over which practices count as common and what people must give up. Some see sameness as a source of unity. Others feel they are only accepted if they abandon a valued language, custom or religious practice. Pressure to conform can weaken belonging. Adopting the main culture also does not guarantee freedom from discrimination.
Look for a real expectation to replace or reduce cultural differences. A shared language lesson or a common rule for public life, called a civic rule, is not assimilation on its own. These also exist under integration. And one policy does not mean everyone in a country shares the same beliefs.
- Assimilation
- Expecting minorities to adopt the dominant culture and give up their own.
- Aim
- Unity through sameness.
- Risk
- People may feel excluded or pressured.
Real examples to use
France's 2004 law
France banned students in state schools from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, such as headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and Sikh turbans. Supporters said it kept schools secular; critics said it excluded minorities, and some Muslim girls left state schools.
Worked example: A school rule about festivals
A government makes minority pupils join only the majority's festivals and stop showing their own traditions at school. It says this will build unity. Some families say their children must hide an important part of who they are.
- The policy expects minorities to give up their customs.
- That is assimilation.
- It may create resentment instead of unity. The government's claim that it builds unity is an intended benefit, not proof that pupils feel included.
Watch out for this
Any policy with a common language is assimilation, and assimilation always brings harmony.
A shared language can exist alongside different cultures. Forcing sameness can cause tension, not harmony.
Check your understanding
Which policy is assimilationist?
- Celebrating each community's festivals at school with shared activities.
- Teaching students a common working language while keeping their mother tongues.
- Requiring newcomers to stop using their own language in public places.
Show the answer
Requiring newcomers to stop using their own language in public places.
Yes. It expects people to give up part of their identity.