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Formal and Informal Education for Roma: Different Models and Experience Edited by Romana Bešter, Vera Klopčič, Mojca Medvešek Published by Institute for Ethnic Studies, Erjavčeva 26, 1000 Ljubljana (www.inv.si) Director: Sonja Novak-Lukanovič Translation and English editing: Tom Priestly Print Run: 250 copies This publication is part of the project “The increase in social and cultural capital in areas with a Roma population”. It is funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport. The operation is performed under the Operational Programme for Human Resources Development 2007–2013, priority axis: “Development of human resources and of life-long learning”; main type of activity: “Improvement of quality and effectiveness of education and train- ing systems”. CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 376-054.57(=214.58)(082) FORMAL and informal education for Roma : different models and experience / edited by Romana Bešter, Vera Klopčič, Mojca Medvešek ; [translation Tom Priestly]. - Ljubljana : Inštitut za narodnostna vprašanja, 2012 ISBN 978-961-6159-41-8 1. Bešter, Romana 264708608 Formal and Informal Education for Roma Different Models and Experience Edited by Romana Bešter Vera Klopčič Mojca Medvešek Note from translator and language editor: The task of translating some, and editing all, of the contributions to this volume was extremely interesting, but brought its own challenges. Not least among them were those arising from the fact that I was not previously fami- liar with any of the terminology connected with the Roma and their ethnolinguistic sub-groupings. I am therefore deeply indebted to Professor Victor Friedman, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Balkan and Slavic Linguistics and an eminent Romologist, for his advice with these matters. Any remaining infelicities are not his fault, but mine. Contens 7 List of Contributors 9 Introduction Vera Klopčič, Mojca Medvešek and Romana Bešter 13 Romani Educational Incubators – An Aid for Students in the Learning Process Romana Bešter and Mojca Medvešek 34 Romani Schooling: Light and Shadow Marco Brazzoduro 59 Two Decades of Educational Policies for the Roma: Lessons and Dilemmas from Romania István Horváth 72 Migration and Its Implications for the Educational System: The Case of the Roma in Bosnia, Germany and Canada Hedina Tahirović Sijerčić 84 From Anti-Roma Racism to Romani Rights in Sweden Zoran Slavnic 99 The Education of the Roma in Croatia: Statistical and Empirical Insights Dragutin Babić 110 Policy and Practice of Romani Inclusion in the Education System of the Republic of Serbia Dragoljub B. Đorđević 118 Romani Cultural After-School Activities as an Instrument for the Better and Easier Inclusion of Romani Children and Youth in the Formal Educational Process Ljatif Demir List of Contributors Dragoljub B. Đorđević is sociologist of religion and romologist, a full professor of soci- ology of culture and morals and the Head of Department for social sciences at the Univer- sity of Niš – Faculty of mechanical engineering, Serbia. Dragutin Babić is sociologist and researcher at the Institute for migration and ethnic studies in Zagreb, Croatia. Hedina Tahirović Sijerčić is a writer, a poet, an educator, currently working as a coordi- nator for Roma of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Ministry of human rights and refugees in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. István Horváth is president of the Research institute on Romanian national minori- ties, associate professor and deputy dean at Sociology and social work department of the Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. Ljatif Demir is a Romani writer, artist, researcher and professor of the Romani language at the University "Cyril and Methodius" in Skopje, Macedonia. Marco Brazzoduro is a professor of Social Policy at “La Sapienza” University in Rome, Italy. Mojca Medvešek is sociologist and researcher at the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Lju- bljana, Slovenia. Romana Bešter is political scientist and researcher at the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Vera Klopčič is lawyer and researcher at the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Ljubljana, Slo- venia. Zoran Slavnic is associate professor of sociology at the Institute for Research on Migra- tion, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), Department of Social and Welfare Studies (ISV), Linköping University, Sweden. |7| | Vera Klopčič, Mojca Medvešek and Romana Bešter | Introduction This monograph contains contributions to the international conference “Formal and Informal Education for Roma: Different Models and Experiences,” held in Ljubljana on October 21, 2011 in the framework of the project The increase in social and cultural capi- tal in areas with a Roma population. At this conference we were able to present the aims of the project and the achievements and experiences of its first year in operation; we were also able to compare these with the motive impulses of educational policies, and with the results attained in this area, in some other European countries. The structure of this monograph follows the original plan for the conference, in which first of all colleagues from the Ljubljana Institute for Ethnic Studies described the position of the Romani community of Slovenia and the results of their research. Next, specialists from various European countries described the general characteristics of the situation of the Roma and set out for their own countries the results of projects and of good prac- tices which are important factors in the process of integrating members of the Romani communities in society at large. The studies presented to us and the projects under way in various countries are for the most part in line with the international documents and recommendations of the EU and the Council of Europe which encourage cultural hetero- geneity and intercultural dialogue, the abolition of discrimination, and the social integra- tion of vulnerable groups. Differences among individual countries mainly consist in the manner in which national policies and measures are based that aim to assist the Roma in their integration into society while at the same time maintaining and developing ele- ments of Romani culture. For the time being, not one of current national policies achieves the desired results. As a challenge, we asked the following question at the conference: is it possible to devise alternative and innovative models of education for members of Romani society that will make possible a long-term improvement in their educational structure |9| and in this way accelerate their integration into society while taking account of their par- ticular way of life, their traditions and culture? The first contribution to this monograph, by Romana Bešter and Mojca Medvešek, is a condensed outline of the significance of Romani integration in the sphere of education in Slovenia together with the essentials of the achievements of the project Increase in Social and Cultural Capital in Areas with a Roma Population. Emphasis is placed on the activities of the Romani Educational Incubators which act as a support for Romani schoolchildren in their participation in the educational system. This chapter is followed by a section with the common theme: the description of experiences in other European countries. First, on the basis of rich experience with Romani parents and children, with local authorities and with teachers, Marco Brazzoduro writes about Romani education in Italy. He emphasises that integration of the Roma in the educational system depends above all on which Rom- ani community they belong to, and their status. He also analyzes potential reasons for the unsatisfactory results of current measures and projects. He underlines the fact that in or- der to set up efficient measures a more thorough analysis must be made of the difficulties faced by Romani society, especially those economical, social and cultural aspects that have not hitherto been taken into account. István Horváth in “Two Decades of Educational Policies for the Roma: Lessons and Dilemmas from Romania,” describes special policies intended for the integration of the Roma in the educational system. To this he adds some deliberations as to what the main aims of educational policies for the Roma should be. Hedina Tahirović Sijerčić, a Romani author, poet and journalist from Sarajevo, treats the implications of Romani migrations for the educational system, using examples of edu- cation for the Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and Canada. She describes models of education for the children of Romani migrants that she herself experienced as a migrant and refugee at the time of the military conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decisive significance of a qualitative change in thinking in the approach to discussing the situation of the Roma in Sweden is discussed by Zoran Slavnic. In his contribution he explains that the contemporary national strategy for the Roma in Sweden takes as its starting-point a redefinition in the discussion of the situation of the Roma. What is involved is an approach that directs attention from the minority group to the majority society. From this point of view the deprivations of the Roma are not to be understood simply as resulting from their particular way of life, their low educational structure, their lack of knowledge about their rights, and so on, but rather as the result of the many years of discrimination that the Roma have encountered in their contacts with the majority society. He further describes the basic tenets of the Swedish strategy towards the Roma, namely: acceptance, partnering (the inclusion not only of the Roma but also of all the rel- evant societal institutions and organizations involved in the strategy’s implementation), a perspective of human rights, and finally long-term, well-defined governmental policy measures. Further, specialists from Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia write about models and experiences in the countries of the Western Balkans. Dragutin Babić describes and discusses the integration of Croatian Roma at various levels of the educational system, from pre-school care through primary and secondary school to higher education.