Rita Katoola

Thesis project

Access to university is recognized as a key vector for social integration, but current policies remain fragmented, conditional, and often ill-suited to the realities of the target audience. The research offers a cross-analysis of public integration policies, migration pathways, and institutional practices, drawing on a theoretical corpus that combines the sociology of integration and social inclusion. It is also based on in-depth field research, particularly within the SILLAT association, a community-based organization that works to promote access to education for exiles, which the doctoral student co-founded and directed at the regional level. The aim is to identify the systemic, institutional, and symbolic obstacles to effectively resuming studies, while proposing an integrative interinstitutional model that brings together universities, support structures, local authorities, and community organizations in a spirit of shared responsibility. Through a qualitative approach involving interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis, this thesis aims to contribute to a critical reflection on French integration policy and the development of more inclusive public policies in the field of higher education.

Edited by Éric Savarese and Catherine Mercier-Suissa