Education of the refugee in the United States

Conclusion

This historical survey of the educational goals developed on behalf of the immigrant and refugee in America indicates that there has been a complete cycle. The first systematic educational efforts, as we have shown, were aimed at teaching the immigrant the English language so that he would be useful for his tasks in American industry. Then came the period which extended this educational goal by offering instruction in several aspects of “acculturation” (officially, “assimilation”, but a concept which has never been put into effect in the history of America's “minorities”). The post-war period saw the stress on the academic level on the “cultural democracy” concept; but this ideal has been more academic than practical, and World War II saw no definite evidences of the popular interest in any “Americanization” program. The recent waves of refugees, bringing in more or less well-educatedindividuals, saw a revival of educational efforts on their behalf; but they differ from the former endeavors in their emphasis on individual education and on instruction in English. The social aspects of “acculturation” — featuring, in general, the period between World War I and II — have been entirely ignored 1).