ANÁLISIS DE SENSIBILIDAD

Assimilation denotes the absorption of minority or subordinate groups into the ways of the majority or dominant group, requiring the minority group to adopt the language, customs and values of the majority group. In this case, assimilation creates loyalty of the minority group towards the majority group. At the same time, the minority group is led to believe that it is not fundamentally different from the majority group (Commission for Racial Equality, 2006:1–6). Although this is the case, assimilation processes maintain the culture of the majority group, or the assimilating body. As such, the assimilated group, the minority group in this case, becomes reduced to being a surrogate of the majority group. According to Lemmer and Squelch (1993:2–3), assimilation is also regarded as a monocultural policy that, until recently, has prevailed in most multicultural Western societies. Assimilation places emphasis on the minimisation of cultural differences and the encouragement of social conformity and continuity. The minority group is required to adopt the language, cultural models and values of the majority group. It is therefore a one-way process. Education is used to good effect to ensure assimilation because in such a case little attention and recognition are accorded to the needs of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, while at the same time educational policies and practices remain ethnocentric.

Assimilation can be regarded as a matter of conforming to the values, customs and traditions of the majority group by the minority group who foregoes its identity and culture due to the assimilation processes. The minority group is forced to deny its identity and heritage in order to participate fully in the institution or school, such as the case of learners (Naidoo, 1996b: 45), and be recognised as members of the school community. Generally, it could be argued that assimilation refers to a policy of making each cultural group adopt the culture of the hegemonic group. One can then conclude that the assumptions of an assimilation approach are that people are not equal, and that some cultures are inferior to others. The assimilation approach to racial integration used education to advocate superior cultures, languages, customs and traditions and to promote social injustice.

Such assimilationist policies of cultural and racial integration that vigorously stressed the need to assimilate the ethnic minority into the main stream were initiated and promoted by the UK and the USA. It was then assumed that once the ethnic minority groups had mastered the language of the majority group (English) and dominant traditions and values, the ethnic minority groups would be absorbed into the dominant White society with fewer challenges or problems. Education was similarly viewed and employed as a primary tool for helping the children of ethnic minority groups fit into the dominant White society. This approach in education led to an emphasis on teaching English as a second language and instilling middle- class values (Naidoo, 1996b:22). In the UK, this approach was adopted mainly after World War II. It maintained that for Black people to be integrated into dominant schools and society they required an education policy that de-emphasised their racial and cultural differences while emphasising their common national identity (Sekete, Shilubane &Moila, 2001:8).

In terms of this approach, the learning activities of the school usually strengthen the culture of the majority group while undermining the culture of the minority group. There is an understanding from the supporters of this approach that for the minority group to succeed it must adopt the values and lifestyles of the majority group. Furthermore, schools are under no obligation to accommodate the differences of the learners from the minority group. As such, these learners are expected to conform to the values and lifestyles of the majority group in order for them to survive and succeed in the schools of the majority group. In the assimilation approach the language and culture of the minority groups are not considered or prioritised at all. Its basic aim is the protection of the majority group‟s values, cultures and language (Naidoo, 1996a:13).

Sekete et al. (2001:8) argue that the school experiences in the UK and the USA show that the said policies failed to bring Black learners up to the levels of their White counterparts, which led to racial tensions that ultimately precipitated riots in the schools. This approach also resulted in the loss of their core cultural identities for minority group learners, because the values, traditions and customs of the majority group dictate the social and cultural context of the school. In the light of these developments, one can understand why Soudien (2004:95)

the approaches. According to Lemmer and Squelch (1993:2), although assimilation has come under strong criticism and pressure since the 1960s, it remains a pervasive approach to education.

Taking into consideration how the assimilation process is understood and implemented, some major conclusions can be made. In this regard, I want to highlight the implications of the process on issues of educational social justice. The assimilation process requires the minority group to adopt the language, customs and values of the majority group, thereby undermining their own cultural values. The fact that assimilation places an emphasis on the minimisation of cultural differences and the encouragement of social conformity and continuity confirms that the process forces minority groups to deny their identity and heritage, as indicated by Naidoo (1996b:32). Therefore, the learning activities of the school usually strengthen the culture of the majority group while undermining the culture of the minority group, making the process an entrenchment of educational social injustice.