Socio-educational policies in Germany, Spain and France for the integration of immigrants

Abstract

We studied the socio-political integration policies being applied in Germany, Spain and France, highlighting their similarities and differences. We then checked whether their integration models were consistent with the common immigration policy of the UE and whether the latter allows them to plan measures for handling immigration to suit their own particular needs. We employed the Comparative Education methodology; the units of comparison were Germany, Spain and France, whose resident foreign populations represent more than 50% of the EU total. We studied the following: history and context; integration at federal and national level; the social-educational requirements for acquiring nationality; and the teaching of the mother tongue of immigrant students in educational institutions. We discovered that, even though the three countries belong to the EU and have common principles and rules about immigration, the design, management and ways of conceiving the integration of immigrant populations vary considerably.