Les enfants de l'immigration a l'ecole (Immigrant Children at School).

This booklet examines issues of multilingualism and cultural pluralism in French-speaking Switzerland, particularly as they relate to children of refugees and undocumented aliens. Chapter 1 focuses on past and current migratory waves, examining causes of Swiss emigration during the 19th century and more recent waves of immigration into Switzerland. Chapter 2 offers immigration figures, indicating that around 10,000 immigrant children arrive each year in Switzerland, representing approximately one-sixth of the country's school children. Chapter 3 provides an analysis for each French-speaking canton and for the structures used to integrate immigrant children into the classroom. The cantons either place the children immediately into age-appropriate classrooms of public schools or into separate reception classes. Chapter 4 examines the statutory obligations of the cantons to provide education for children of both undocumented immigrants and refugees. In chapter 5, intercultural training for teaching professionals is discussed. Chapter 6 describes the courses in students' native languages and cultures organized by the several countries of origin, tracing changes in objectives and pedagogies of these programs since the 1970s. Chapter 7 focuses on the role played by language instruction in the creation of a tolerant, nonracist pluralistic society. Contains 35 references. (AC)