What term describes the governmental actions regarding Native American education and Australian Aboriginal children?

The term that best describes governmental actions regarding Native American education and Australian Aboriginal children is cultural adaptation. This concept involves how individuals or groups adjust to a new culture or societal norms, often following policies that aim to assimilate or integrate indigenous peoples into the dominant society's beliefs, practices, and educational systems.

In the context of Native American education and the treatment of Australian Aboriginal children, both groups experienced policies that sought to change their cultural identities through education. This often meant removing children from their families and communities and placing them in institutions where they were encouraged or coerced to adopt the dominant culture's language, values, and practices. Such actions were justified under the guise of providing opportunities but often resulted in significant cultural disruption and loss.

While integration, immigration, and cultural diffusion are related concepts, they do not specifically capture the targeted actions taken by governments to alter the educational and cultural experiences of these groups in the manner that cultural adaptation does. Integration refers more to the coexistence of cultures within a society, immigration involves moving into a new country, and cultural diffusion denotes the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another. Thus, cultural adaptation more accurately reflects the historical context and actions taken regarding education for Native American and Aboriginal children.