The Roma community has been exposed to exclusion, marginalization and persecution for many years due to its way of life, history and culture. The master's thesis was created with the idea of finding reasons for the poor educational and social situation of the Roma community. In my master's thesis entitled Language policy of Roma education, I focused on the study of the linguistic ability of Roma children in another language, i.e. Slovenian. In the theoretical part, I defined the history of the Roma community, their characteristics and rights, as well as the legal basis governing the position of the Roma in the Republic of Slovenia. I paid special attention to the review of projects, programs and strategies related to measures in the field of education of Roma children. From the status reports of the previous years, I highlighted the problems they face in the field of upbringing and education. Finally, I report on the role of language standardization in the progress of the Roma community.
The central part of the master's thesis includes research from the field. I conducted an interview with the teacher of the Pikapolonica unit, which works within the Roma settlement of Brezje, then with the former Roma councillor Duška Balažek, who worked as an assistant in a Roma kindergarten for many years. The questions asked focus on dealing with language problems, the introduction of Slovenian as the language of the environment, and consideration of the Roma language and culture. I then conducted an interview with six classroom teachers in the vicinity of Novi Mesto and a Slovenian teacher who teaches at the subject level. With the help of their answers, I investigated the language ability of Roma children upon entering primary school, how they progress with language in the 6th grade, and the approaches and methods that teachers use when working with Roma. In the end, my research also gave a voice to the Roma, who presented themselves how they cope with language problems and the importance of knowledge of Slovenian.
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