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"The author analyses higher education policies targeted at equal (or rather not so equal) opportunities for access into higher education for indigenous people in Australia, Canada, and Mexico. He discusses concepts of equity and social responsiveness and works out very wen that many measures undertaken to ensure equal access for indigenous people require them to adopt the norms and values of the majority culture. This, of course, is in stark contrast to an approach of self-determination. He finds an example of this in Canada where indigenous people have successfully fought to start their own universities and have them recognized as equal to the universities of the majority culture. This means that they control their own educational processes. Despite the fact that developments in Canada are not ideal and go all the way in shifting control and administration to the indigenous boards, such an approach acknowledges the difference without seeing it as inferior. The author also works out in a convincing manner that in countries where the higher education system serves purposes of nation-building, a 'different but equal' policy is perceived as separatist and threatening to the state. In his conclusions, the author proposes to develop the concept of an ethnically sensitive university that includes cultural diversity as a matter of content and collaborates with indigenous people in their struggle for justice and recognition." (excerpt)

"The author analyses higher education policies targeted at equal (or rather not so equal) opportunities for access into higher education for indigenous people in Australia, Canada, and Mexico. He discusses concepts of equity and social responsiveness and works out very wen that many measures undertaken to ensure equal access for indigenous people require them to adopt the norms and values of the majority culture. This, of course, is in stark contrast to an approach of self-determination. He finds an example of this in Canada where indigenous people have successfully fought to start their own universities and have them recognized as equal to the universities of the majority culture. This means that they control their own educational processes. Despite the fact that developments in Canada are not ideal and go all the way in shifting control and administration to the indigenous boards, such an approach acknowledges the difference without seeing it as inferior. The author also works out in a convincing manner that in countries where the higher education system serves purposes of nation-building, a 'different but equal' policy is perceived as separatist and threatening to the state. In his conclusions, the author proposes to develop the concept of an ethnically sensitive university that includes cultural diversity as a matter of content and collaborates with indigenous people in their struggle for justice and recognition." (excerpt).