Immigration and Interculturality: Integration Models of Immigrant Students in Tunisia

Purpose: The study aims to examine the integration of immigrant students from sub-Saharan Africa within the Tunisian system of higher education. Methodology/Approach/Design: This qualitative study was carried out among 100 students enrolled in the top three accessible multicultural private Tunisian universities. To analyse the relations between native immigrant students, we have devoted second criteria forming thus two case studies: there are two groups of students (a group of 50 Tunisian students and another group of 50 students with different sub-Saharan African nationalities. Results: The process of integrating subjects from different yet similar cultures, in this case, sub-Saharan African students, is an anthropological process seeking to put cultural diversity at the service of an inclusive environment with a new cultural code. The metaphor of the bridge between cultures is no longer valid; the focus is rather on the concept of the salad bowl integrating different cultures. University experience constitutes, with respect to the future of students, a key element to achieve professional insertion. Practical Implication: The study proposes an integration model that transcends the functionalist determinist approach. It is not assimilation that fuses all subjects into one neither single entity nor communitarianism that maintains ethnic barriers above mixture and unanimity. Originality/Value: In this study, an intercultural sociological reflection is adopted while emphasizing the multicultural nature of Tunisia