The purpose of the master’s thesis was to examine the parents’ and teachers’ views on the impact of social factors on the education of Roma children, focusing on family and school factors. The main objective was to identify the attitudes of Roma parents towards their children's schooling, the conditions for schooling that Roma children have at home, and the barriers that parents identify with their children's schooling. In addition, we also explored the views and experiences of school staff working with Roma children and the obstacles and strategies they use to overcome them.
A specifical school in the south-eastern part of Slovenia was selected for the research. Namely, this school faces particular challenges in integrating Roma children into the school system. The participants were four teachers (three class teachers and one subject teacher), a Roma assistant, a pedagogue and four Roma parents with school-age children. The data was collected through interviews and processed qualitatively.
The research has shown that Roma parents generally express positive attitudes towards their children's education, but face various challenges, including financial difficulties, lack of education and poor living conditions. These difficulties limit their ability to effectively support their children's education. School staff pointed out difficulties in engaging with Roma parents stemming from cultural differences and lack of mutual understanding, as well as lack of resources and adequate support for working with Roma pupils, which further complicates the integration of Roma children into the education system.
Proposed solutions include greater involvement of Roma assistants in the education system and the development of additional teacher training programmes to help teachers understand the specific needs of Roma children. Improving contacts between Roma parents and teachers and taking into account the starting conditions of Roma pupils are key. Teachers should be aware that Slovene is not their primary language, which has an impact on linguistic socialisation, and adapt their pedagogical approach to this fact.
In-depth analysis of the interviews has shown that closer cooperation between the school and the Roma community and increased support for Roma children's integration into the education system are essential to improve the school performance of Roma children. School-family coordination is key to improving the life situation of Roma children. Roma also often face unequal access to services, including health services, where dental hygiene is often not a priority. This leads to health problems that affect education and lead to increased absenteeism. Despite the school's efforts to address these problems, results are often unsatisfactory due to lack of consistency and failure to follow up on recommendations to improve the situation. The environment in which Roma children live has an additional impact on their education, as the low educational environment and the lack of motivation due to financial incentives contribute to low success rates in completing school and finding a job.
Integrated support is key to the successful integration of Roma children into the education system, and therefore includes improving communication between the school and Roma parents, adapting teaching methods and taking into account the specific starting conditions of the pupils. It is also essential to address the impact of poor living conditions and access to services in order to reduce the obstacles that prevent Roma children from progressing. Only through joint efforts and adjustments can lasting improvements in the educational outcomes and living conditions of Roma communities be achieved.
|
