Transformative education for Roma (Gypsy) children: An insider's view

In this article I take a close look at the educational situation of Roma children and especially at the impediments that exist regarding their full participation in the educational process. At the present time the bilingualism of Roma children is either ignored or seen as a handicap. There is little appreciation in mainstream education of Roma culture or the Romani language. The challenge for educators everywhere is to adapt one's teaching methods and the curriculum in such a way that school becomes more interesting for Roma children, and also that majority students and teachers become more familiar with Roma culture and history. We suggest several ways to accomplish this.     

Roma in the Romanian Educational System: barriers and leaps of faith

One of the most serious problems facing Romania today is the education of one of its largest minorities, the Roma, especially since such a high percentage — some estimate over 27% ‐‐ of this minority go unschooled and are illiterate. This paper looks at the current situation of Roma within the Romanian educational system, and begins to discuss some of the reasons why the system is failing to educate thousands of Romani children. In addition to this, it will highlight an educational effort to overcome a system, which, unfortunately, works against and not in favour of the education of Roma students.     

The Gandhi Secondary School: an experiment in Roma education

The Gandhi Secondary School, located in Pécs, Hungary, was, until recently, the only secondary school in Europe devoted to preparing young Roma for higher education. This article discusses the school's origins and philosophy, its curriculum, and its teaching models. There is also a discussion of the reality of life at the school and the various challenges faced by teachers and students.     

School adaptation of Roma children

This paper examines the degree of school adaptation among Roma children who were included in a program for the desegregation of Roma schools in Bulgaria. More specifically, the program requires Roma children to attend mixed classes with Bulgarian students and Roma teacher assistants to work with them. The Bulgarian version of the Questionnaire on School Adaptation, developed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education was used. A factorial experimental design was applied to test the hypothesis that Roma children adapt better to school when they study in mixed classes with the support of a Roma teacher assistant rather than in homogeneous classes. As predicted, the results reveal that Roma students in mixed classes with Roma teacher assistants adapt better than Roma students in homogeneous classes on the most important indicators of adaptation.     

Bullying and victimization among majority and minority students: The role of peers’ ethnic perceptions

In this study, we investigate the associations between self-reported and victim-reported bullying and two dimensions of ethnicity (self-identification and ethnic perceptions) among non-Roma majority and Roma minority Hungarian secondary school students. Results of the meta-analysis of exponential random graph models for 12 classes (347 students, 4 schools) show that both self-declared Roma and non-Roma students are more likely to report that they bully peers they perceive as Roma compared to peers they perceive as non-Roma. This is after controlling for gender, socio-economic status, and structural characteristics of the bullying networks. Similar associations have not been found, however, analysing victims’ reports.     

Feel threatened being prejudiced: the role of past experience and proximal threat in shaping adolescents’ Romaphobia

This study investigates Serbian adolescents’ attitudes towards the Roma, i.e. Romaphobia. The sample consisted of 687 secondary school students (mean age 17), of which 53% were females. In a survey-based study, we assessed perception of physical threat, quality of previous contact with Roma, and Romaphobia. The findings demonstrate that perceived physical threat entices and supports the emergence of Romaphobia. Moreover, the relationship between past experience with Roma and Romaphobia was fully mediated by perceived proximal threat. The theoretical and educational implications are discussed.     

Support programmes for Roma children: do they help or promote exclusion?

This article critically examines current education programmes for Roma primary school students in the Czech Republic and the impact of these programmes. The research described here, based on in‐depth case studies, challenges popular beliefs in the ‘success’ of Roma oriented programmes, as well as the stereotypical negative images of Roma parents. The studies also explore the dilemmas experienced by teaching staff and their views of both Roma and the majority ‘non‐Roma’ children.     

Essay on personal field experiences from an intercultural approach

In this article I intend to analyse two of the research projects I carried out among the Roma from a critical intercultural perspective. I shall discuss some of the processes referring to the educational policy of teaching Romani mother tongue in school, considering not only the direct beneficiaries of this policy, the students, but also the Romani language teachers who are also seen as a product of the said policy.     

How do vulnerable youth complete secondary education? The key role of families and the community

This article demonstrates how the engagement of families and other community members in decision-making processes in a school may prevent early school leaving among vulnerable youth and simultaneously increase their enrolment in secondary education. Based on a large-scale, EU-funded study, this article focuses on the case of one school located in a deprived area inhabited mainly by Roma people – one of the vulnerable populations most affected by early school leaving – where a specific egalitarian participatory process of Roma families was implemented. According to the analysis of the collected data, this participation contributed to a reduction in student dropout rates during primary education, led to the implementation of compulsory secondary education in the same school, and increased the numbers of students who graduated from secondary school. These achievements transformed the educational and social prospects of vulnerable youth who were following the path to failure and who now dream of continuing their studies. Furthermore, these youth are acting as role models for younger children in primary education, helping to prevent school dropout and early school leaving from early ages. The case shows how the community participation in decision-making processes transformed the climate and expectations regarding education in the neighbourhood.     

Interrupted aspirations: research and policy on Gitano education in a time of recession,in Spain

During the past decade, Gitano students’ school success and its cultural, social and emotional consequences have been largely unexplored, particularly in a new context: the deep economic crisis in Spain. This study reviews and analyses the evolution of the research production and the changing contexts of policy trends affecting the ‘Roma education issue’ as they have developed in Spain during the past decade (2004–2014). The authors take as a starting point the groundbreaking study published in 2004 that focused on trajectories of educational achievement and continuity among Gitano youth, and go on to reconstruct the approaches undertaken by qualitative, quantitative and evaluation research since then, in relation to their contributions to improve policy recommendations. The role played by Spanish and European social and educational strategies addressed to the Gitano/Roma population is critically explored to challenge the controversial notion of a ‘Spanish model of Roma integration’. Finally, the authors argue that the deterioration of public education and the virtual disappearance of social benefits in recent years, in addition to the worrying actions taken against Roma citizens in the EU, are to account for the interrupted aspirations of a whole generation of Gitano/Roma youth.     

‘They clip our wings’: studying achievement and racialisation through a Roma perspective

ABSTRACT

This article presents data gathered among Bulgarian Romani communities during a project investigating the educational hardship of Roma people. Major social inequalities affect the educational and life chances of Roma students. Despite European Union political frameworks, the perspectives of Roma themselves remain undocumented. This paper addresses this gap by reporting on data from interviews with Roma parents and students, which reveal practices of discrimination racialising Roma in Bulgarian schools. Reporting on modes of racialisation, the author shows the direct impact of experiences of discrimination on Roma students’ educational and career prospects. The findings are relevant to building knowledge of how racialisation, which has shaped the societal discourse surrounding Roma groups, remains integral in contemporary Europe, reinforcing racialised social hierarchies. This article informs further our understanding of the limitations of concentrated political efforts to bring actual change in the lives of Roma if destructive social constructions, such as racialisation, are not sufficiently addressed.     

Micromomentary movement and the deconding of face and body cues

A new version of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity Test (PONS)—a standardized test of sensitivity to nonverbal cues—was developed to determine the effects of five levels or sequences of micromomentary movement on accuracy in decoding nonverbal face and body cues, presented for 125 microseconds (msecs). The five sequences were: backward movement, partially backward movement, no movement, partially forward movement, and fully forward movement. Two versions of this test—the Test of Micromomentary Movement Effects (TOMME)—were administered to two samples of female high school and college students. The results, averaged over face and body cues, showed that as the movement sequences more closely approximated the fully forward sequence, decoding accuracy increased. These results, showing the benefits of adding properly sequenced information at split second (42 msec) exposures, not only support the findings of previous researchers that micromomentary facial affect displays may be helpful in decoding nonverbal facial cues, but also suggest that micromomentary movements may be important for decoding body cues as well.     

Inter-ethnic friendship and negative ties in secondary school

This paper investigates several different aspects of inter-ethnic relationships. It focuses on friendships and negative ties between secondary school students from different ethnic backgrounds, introducing and measuring two different aspects of ethnicity: self-declared ethnicity, and ethnicity based on peer perception. These are first applied separately and then together on a sample of secondary school students in Hungary consisting of two ethnic groups: Roma and non-Roma Hungarian (N = 420). Friendships and negative ties are modelled using cross-sectional exponential random graph models for sixteen classrooms separately, and then individual models are summarized using meta-analysis. Based on the social identity approach, we predict that inter-ethnic friendships are less likely, and negative ties are more likely, than those within ethnic groups; and that majority students reject their minority peers more than the other way around. Moreover, minority students are expected to exclude those whom they perceive as minorities, but who, at the same time, identify with the majority group, since these classmates might seem to them as “traitors” of their “original” ethnic group. Results mostly confirm our hypotheses, emphasizing the role of perceived ethnicity: majority students tend to dislike peers whom they perceive as minorities, regardless of these peers’ self-declared ethnicity; on the other hand, minority students are likely to send friendship nominations towards their perceived minority classmates if these also declare themselves as minorities, but, as predicted, negative nominations if these declare themselves as majorities. This supports our general idea that different ethnicity aspects might influence friendships and negative ties in different ways, and inconsistencies in someone's ethnic categorization might play an important role in social rejection.     

Exploring the unknown aspects of Roma community in Cyprus and the role of social work practice

The status quo of Roma communities in Europe is strongly marked by marginalisation and discrimination. Roma people tend to face social exclusion and segregation leading to lack of education, chronic unemployment and limited access to healthcare, housing and public services as well as widespread poverty. Very few studies have been conducted as far as Roma community in Cyprus are concerned and almost none has explored quality of life of this ethnic minority. Therefore, this article examines quality of life dimensions in approximately half of the population (n?=?156) residing in the catchment area. Both quantitative and qualitative results showed poor standards of living, high school dropout rates and high levels of marginalisation. Social work as discipline can foster a more empowering and coordinating role as to enhance Roma’s distinctive identity and improve standards of living.     

Roma pupils’ attitudes towards education – a case study

When analysing the reasons behind the academic underachievement of Roma pupils, some teachers suggest that Roma people do not value education and that Roma children have negative attitudes towards school. With increasing frequency, Roma pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds are being researched and the research primarily adopts the perspectives of teachers and schools’ professional staff. The present study analyses attitudes towards education held by Roma pupils whose socio-economic status is comparable to the majority population and considers their perspective. The research was conducted with Roma pupils attending primary school in Maribor, Slovenia. To collect data, interviews were conducted. The study results suggest that the majority of Roma pupils from Maribor like attending school and value formal education; the majority indicated that they want to complete primary school and continue their education. The results also show that Roma pupils can be highly academically motivated if improved life conditions and improved education opportunities are provided to the Roma population.     

Roma and the politics of double discourse in contemporary Europe

ABSTRACT

The article analyses the politics of ‘double discourse’ in relation to Roma that has evolved in contemporary neoliberal Europe. On the one hand, the double discourse promotes the integration, rights and equal opportunities of Roma, on the other, it denies recognition of, and ways to address, enduring structural violence and rising social insecurity. The article argues that the politics of ‘double discourse’, as a neoliberal approach towards Roma, is structured by two contradictory discourses that speak to different audiences, using duplicitous approaches to create anti-Roma consensus and maintain the critical difference and subordinated position of the racialised Romani populations in Europe. By studying the representation of Roma in the cases of so-called 'child theft' in Greece and Ireland, and in the recent ‘refugee crisis’, the paper identifies and discusses three dimensions of contemporary neoliberal double discourse: racialised de-Europeanisation, neoliberal undeservingness and (dis)articulation of citizenship.     

Becoming tolerable: subject constitution of Roma mediators in Finnish schools

Although Finnish politics relating to the Roma tend to be perceived internationally as fairly successful, several obstacles exist for the Roma in education and the labour market. Training of Roma mediators has been actively promoted in Finland to improve the school performance and equality of Roma pupils. This article, based on ethnographic research, focuses on exploring how the current discursive terrain around the topics of tolerance and prejudice functions in the everyday work of mediators. It is argued that the present discourses in school expose the mediators to unequal power relations of tolerance. The terms for being tolerated are set by the potential tolerating actors, the school community. The mediators aim to supply knowledge about the Roma and try to address prejudices as representatives of the Roma. The study identified three different strategies that the mediators used when encountering prejudice: making sure one does not seem too different, parody and feigning naivety. The analysis suggests that the present discursive terrain creates obstacles to addressing inequalities, discrimination and racism in educational contexts. The responsibility for tackling discrimination is placed on the shoulders of individual Roma – not the whole school community.     

Roma girls: between traditional values and educational aspirations

The paper presents findings from a survey of 720 respondents: 240 Roma parents, 240 Roma boys and 240 Roma girls between 12 and 25 years of age. The subjects were from various regions of Bulgaria and were members of different ethnic groups. The main goal of the survey was to study the current attitudes that Roma communities hold regarding an existing Roma tradition – the practice of keeping a girl out of school in order to preserve her virginity. The respondents gave varied responses; however, the majority of the parents surveyed declared that they would allow their daughters to go to school despite the Roma tradition of keeping them at home to preserve their ‘cleanness’ (i.e. virginity).     

Religious multiculturalism and intercultural education: Reflections on the educational experiences at the Waldensian Collegio della Santa Trinità in Torre Pellice (Italy)

In this paper the author reflects on the educational experience of students attending the Waldensian high school in Torre Pellice (Italy), drawing on the findings of her own ethnographic fieldwork in the Waldensian valleys. The original research aim was to explore the meaning that education and schooling traditionally have for this religious minority group, and their relevance to the latter's identity construction as minority persons, as well as Italian citizens. But additional findings emerged which allow for an interpretation of the Collegio della Santa Trinità as a place where intercultural education has also been achieved. Fifteen fifth year high school students describe in in-depth interviews how this denominational high school is both open to diversity and attentive to a pluralism of views. As a consequence the school is perceived as providing its students not only with high quality education but also with a distinctive cultural perspective built around the common concerns of its students.     

The education of Roma children in Romania: Description,difficulties, solutions

In this study the authors discuss the manner in which the Romanian educational system deals with (or fails to deal with) the integration of Roma children in public education. Various educational strategies are discussed that have been attempted in Romania and that could potentially assist the Roma in facing the challenges of the twenty-first century in Romania. We also present a case study focusing on one community that sheds light on the various issues that affect the integration process of Roma children. Our research into a local school shows for instance that there is much willingness on the part of Roma children to participate in mixed schools (Roma and non-Roma) but that there is much reluctance on the part of the majority children and their parents to accept the Roma as their equals.