“Cultural backgrounds” in partnerships between the school and families
A comparative analysis of intercultural mediation programs
- By Lila Belkacem
- and Séverine Chauvel
Pages 7 to 24
Cite this article
- BELKACEM, Lila
- and CHAUVEL, Séverine,
- Belkacem, Lila.
- et al.
- Belkacem, L.
- and Chauvel, S.
https://doi.org/10.3917/agora.083.0007
Cite this article
- Belkacem, L.
- and Chauvel, S.
- Belkacem, Lila.
- et al.
- BELKACEM, Lila
- and CHAUVEL, Séverine,
https://doi.org/10.3917/agora.083.0007
This article shows how the notion of culture is at the heart of certain mechanisms for cooperation between the school system and families that are perceived as being from immigrant backgrounds. Drawing on two cases of intercultural mediation, it analyses a major paradox: although these programs aim to create bridges between the school and parents, and to valorize social and racial minority groups in French society, they legitimize culturalist conceptions that are at the heart of these same processes of exclusion, whilst also opening up a space for expression that is appreciated by parents. Finally, the article sheds light on the reasons why these spaces are maintained – and indeed increased – in spite of the heterogenous expectations of the people involved.