Guide for the inclusion of roma students by Llere

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSION OF ROMA STUDENTS

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION P R O J E C T

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The content of this publication/ broadcast material are the sole responsibility of Asociaci贸n Socioeducativa Llere.

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSION OF ROMA STUDENTS

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

Beneficiary / Leading partner: Asociación Socioeducativa Llere Partners: Romsko nacional novijeće (Roma National Council), Osnovna škola Galdovo (Sisak) (Galdovo Elementary School, Sisak). Contact persons: César Arroyo (Project Manager – Llere, Spain) 0034 925 24 17 62 Bibijana Papo (Project Assistant – RNV, Croatia) 0091 600 19 49 / 01 580 26 99

Investing in the future. www.strukturnifondovi.hr - www.ljudskipotencijali.hr For Intermediate body 1: www.mzos.hr - e-mail address: odgojiobrazovanje@mzos.hr / For Intermediate body 2: www.asoo.hr - e-mail address: defco@asoo.hr

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

PUBLICATION COORDINATORS Roberto Moreno López and César Arroyo López PARTICIPATING AS AUTHORS David D. Orlović Bibijana Papo Petar Zelić Veljko Kajtazi Goran Lapat Danijel Vojak Ljubica Bakić Tomić Mirko Marković Rosa Mari Ytarte Rut Barranco Bojan Iličić Danijel Bogdan Jagoda Šukovez Marija Pokos Rosana Stanko Snježana Coha

Katarina Duhović Alen Beganović Tea Kupec Jovica Radosavljević Jovana Petrović Mirjam Ćorluka Irena Čugura Ćerić Čedo Todorović Milan Mitrović Ana Benić Sandra Sekulić Maja Martić Martina Kesak Omer Ćorić

Original version of the document in Croatian and English ©Asociación Llere (Spain) ISBN: 978-84-617-0530-6 ISBN (Roma National Council):978-953-57825-3-7 Posted in Croatian and English The first edition of the Croatian language: Zagreb, July 2014. for publishers Asociacion Socioeducativa Llere Romsko nacionalno vijeće Translation: Natalija Bajs, Elvira Mulić, Helena Šintić Graphic design: La Casa Torcida Print: Grafički zavod Hrvatske Photos: Carlos Villarejo, Roberto Moreno i David D. Orlović.

PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

Partners, associates and funding agencies 01 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I

European and national strategic framework 02 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II

Intercultural mediation as a professional tool 03 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER III

Promotion of multiculturality / interculturality, human rights and active citizenship 04 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER IV

Presentation of experiences and good practices 05 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 06 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

PARTNERS, ASSOCIATES AND FUNDING AGENCIES FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION ASOCIACIÓN SOCIOEDUCATIVA LLERE Mr. Manuel Peces

Our institutions are in a position to undertake a series of transnational activities focused on improvements in devising strategies and resources for the integration of Roma children in the educational system in the Republic of Croatia through the implementation of expert mediation programs in coordination with educational communities. A series of specific activities will be implemented within this general framework, all of which aim to include into the system and improve the school success of all Roma students in several Croatian counties, placing special emphasis on strategies and human resources which can be applied to this end. In the course of preparatory meetings, which preceded the project, partner institutions Llere, the Roma National Council and Galdovo Elementary School, starting from the analysis of the problems and needs of the Roma communities in specific areas, three main lines of action were chosen. They will enable the attainment of the project’s main goal, and they relate to:

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT Partners, associates and funding agencies

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Training and qualification of all experts connected with social and educational institutions Commitment to improving coordination channels and the transmission of information between included stakeholders Finally, the implementation of innovative working measures in the afore-mentioned environments in the framework of mediation, interculturality and mutual transnational learning and good practices.

In this sense, the project aims to train experts to function as intercultural mediators for the successful inclusion of Roma students. In this way the project encompasses activities necessary for the improvement of the transition of educational innovations and

resides on the clear commitment to facilitate access to knowledge from a theoretical and practical perspective, which comprises the combination of basic elements of work in professional intercultural mediation. Finally, we have established that there is a need for work on the didactic qualification of experts, identifying and devising new ways of working with the students, parents and the educational community in general, concepts such as the promotion of different values, including difference, human rights and active citizenship. The ability of communication between different institutions and the generalization of experiences connected with Roma students are of vital importance, together with those educational processes

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

which include first-hand work with Roma communities and children. To this purpose, we intend to use the anticipated course of activities to create new spaces for coordination between all of the stakeholders concerned (institutions, associations, parents, etc), in order to improve the transmission of important information about work on the inclusion of Roma children, with the intention of uniting all efforts and increasing the efficiency of activities which, if they are undertaken together, have a significantly bigger influence and chance of success. Therefore, we advocate an increase in the formalization of mutual work frames, in order to render more effective the transmission of information and examples of good practices, such as mutual work protocols, virtual spaces for sharing information and mutual management. INTRODUCTION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ROMA NATIONAL COUNCIL Mr. Veljko Kajtazi Dear readers! This Manual represents a collection of texts written as a part of the EU project Mediators for Integration which was implemented in 2013 and 2014. The purpose of this Manual is to provide information and resource material which will give you an insight into the national and European legislation for the education of children belonging to the Roma national minority, into the subject of mediation within the family, school and community, into the basics of interculturalism and human rights and into examples of good practices implemented by Roma associations, elementary schools, centres for social care and other institutions, which were created through work with students who are members of the Roma national minority. Special attention should be paid to texts written by participants of the education for mediators, in which they describe the position of Roma and the state and perspective of their education in Sisak, Kutina, Slavonski Brod and Darda. The texts may serve as recommendations for the further development of activities in these environments, in the aim of achieving full integration of children belonging to the Roma national minority into the educational system. Education is a priority for the Roma National Council. Our goal is to increase the quality of education for Roma children and to increase the number of children and young members of the Roma national minority on all levels of education – from pre-school to higher

education. This is why the Roma National Council, acting as an umbrella organization for the actualization of Roma rights in the Republic of Croatia, has become included in the implementation of this international project. Cooperation with institutions on the national, regional and local level plays a very important role in the achievement of our goals, as well as cooperation with civil society organizations, schools, universities, social care services and other institutions which work on improving the educational situation of the Roma national minority. In fact, the intention of the project Mediators for Integration, within which this Manual is published, is to connect individuals working in different areas of expertise or in different institutions within one city, to have them exchange different experiences, perspectives and ideas and acquire new skills and knowledge through education for mediators and to have them develop new strategies and resources for including Roma children into the educational system. Sisak, Kutina, Slavonski Brod and Darda were chosen as the places where the activities would be implemented. Individuals participating in the activities (Roma activists, teachers, educators, school principals and principals of centres for social care, social workers and students of social and humanistic sciences) all came from these respective places. These places have a significant number of Roma inhabitants and a significant number of Roma children included in the educational system. Now that the process of the implementation of the project is through, we can say that we are exceptionally satisfied with the interaction, which has developed between participants of the education, the Roma National Council and our member associations in the locations of the implementation, elementary schools and centres for social care. The only way to solve existing problems is through continual work in local communities, establishing connections between kindergartens, schools, Roma activists and other stakeholders. Every local community and its every member must become aware of the fact that it – and its future– mostly depend on the education of their children. In the context of communication between the family, the school representative, the social worker and the child, it is important to mention mediation. Mediation was the key word in all the project activities, socio-educational mediation in the family and in school. Beside education for mediators, participants had the opportunity to learn about Spanish experiences with mediation during their study visit to Toledo, Spain, the seat of the Llere Association, our partner organization in the realization of this project.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

I would like to thank the Llere Association for our successful cooperation in this project and the preparation of this Manual, as well as the exchange of information and experiences, which will surely help us in developing further activities in Croatia. I would also like to thank our partners, Galdovo Elementary School from Sisak, who were involved in all the activities within the project and who supported us by offering their suggestions and experience in educating children belonging to the Roma national minority. Last of all, I would like to recommend this Manual to employees working in kindergartens, elementary schools and high schools, universities, social care institutions, NGO experts and volunteers and to all those who work on improving the Roma national minority members’ position and on implementing their rights. GALDOVO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Petar Zelić, Principal Galdovo Elementary School, in which Roma pupils constitute a significant number of the student population, joined the implementation of the project Mediators for Integration together with the Llere Association and the Roma National Council. We did so out of a desire to improve the quality and conditions of education for all our Roma pupils. We encounter a large number of difficulties in our work with the Roma population within the educational system. Bilingualism remains the biggest problem for both pupils and teachers. The pupils’ mother tongue is Roma, while Croatian is their second language, which creates a language barrier for them when they start school. Their knowledge of the Croatian language is insufficient for them to be able to use it completely. Teachers are not sufficiently acquainted with the Roma language to achieve complete communication and transmit the necessary knowledge to the pupils. This is why pupils are not able to fully follow the curriculum and they cannot achieve the expected progress. Another problem that has been noticed is the inconsistency between home and school upbringing. The parents, most of whom have not finished elementary school, believe education is unnecessary. Luckily, that opinion seems to be changing, as well. Unfortunately, pupils’ homes do not possess the conditions necessary for them to fulfil their school duties and study, which slows down the children’s progress during their education. Members of the Roma national minority also abandon education

at a too early age. This trend is more present among girls, who leave school to get married. The teacher plays an important role in the pupils’ success. He is the person who is supposed to create a pleasant working environment and help the pupils feel safe in school. The teacher must be aware of the pupils’ abilities and approach them accordingly during their upbringing and education. He/she must act as a motivator, encourage pupils to complete their tasks and adapt the curriculum to the pupils’ abilities. The teacher must make sure that the atmosphere in the classroom is pleasant and that the pupils accept one another and respect their mutual differences. We must make the pupils conscious of the importance of reading and writing and encourage them to take an interest in books and the written word. Knowledge should be transmitted through practical examples from real life and everything that surrounds the pupils. At the same time, we must respect the tradition, culture and past of the Roma people. Each instance of cooperation with parents is important and each breakthrough should be appreciated. Our school boasts an excellent cooperation with representatives of the Roma community in Palanjek, whose children attend our school – Galdovo Elementary School (5th – 8th grade) and Hrastenica Local School (1st – 4th grade). Parents have expressed their wish to have their children attend kindergarten or pre-school. It would be desirable that pupils belonging to the Roma national minority attend kindergarten or pre-school so that they could learn Croatian and develop motor functions. Starting school with previous knowledge would make it easier for the pupils to attend the first grade. Extended stay at school would also be desirable, so the pupils could stay on in school after regular classes are finished, write their homework, revise and spend time with their peers. This would enable them to go home without the burden of schoolwork. The project “Mediators for the Integration” made us aware of the need for strengthening the cooperation between the school, the centre for social care and the City Council of Sisak with the Roma population in the aim of sharing information from all sides and connecting institutions’ work in order to help the Roma population. The project also made us aware of the importance of the mediator, a person who would be in charge of mediating between institutions, sharing information, working with families and offering the Roma community necessary help and support. The mediator would work

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

on connecting families with the school in the aim of ensuring a more successful education for the pupil. He/she would help the families with all the necessary legal questions or problems that they might come across. He/she would work on decreasing the children’s absences from school and give feedback to the school and the centre for social care, and in this way work on these questions in the field, where the problems are real, in the hopes of improving the Roma community’s position in the society and of changing the perception of education in the Roma community, i.e. increasing its importance.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

CHAPTER I

EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK The overall EU framework, integrated into the plans of the Republic of Croatia on the objectives for the inclusion of the Roma minority, represents the starting point in our project’s study and implementation of actions to improve the current situation. The Europe 2020 Strategy towards new ways of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth leaves no place for the entrenched economic and social marginalization of the largest minority in Europe. The primary responsibility of this work lies with the public authorities, but remains a challenge because the social and economic integration of Roma is a twoway process that requires changing the mindsets of the majority of people as well as of members of the Roma communities. As it is stated in the working group “Gypsies” of the Commission, despite some progress done at Member States and EU level in recent years, little has changed in the daily lives of most Roma. Strong and adequate measures still haven’t been put in place to address the social and economic problems of a large part of the Roma in the EU. To face them, and because the

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

CHAPTER I

European and national strategic framework

absence of discrimination is not sufficient to combat the social exclusion of the Roma, the Commission calls on EU institutions to support the European Framework of National Strategies for Roma Inclusion. An oriented approach within the broader strategy fighting against poverty and exclusion, which does not exclude aid to other vunerable and disadvantaged groups of the population, is consistent with the principle of nondiscrimination both in the EU and nationally. The Commission has adopted the “Communication on Early Childhood Education and Care”, highlighting that participation rates of Roma children are significantly lower, although their needs for help are greater. It must be ensured that they finish at least Primary Education and, following the Europe 2020 Strategy, attempts must be made to reduce the number of those who drop out of High School. Visible are also the efforts to develop common principles for the inclusion of the Roma made from good experiences of inclusion initiatives among Member States. The goal is to integrate the Roma problems and use mutual learning and peer evaluations to explore possible improvements for their initiatives on desegregation and access to education, employment and basic social services. Access to education. It is already known that children, who are not schooled, are incorporated into the school system late or leave it early, find considerable subsequent difficulties ranging from literacy and language problems to feelings of exclusion and inadequacy. As a result, they find it more difficult to access higher levels of education, to college or good jobs. They put their future life at risk. To improve this situation and in accordance with EU recommendations, it is necessary to focus attention

on providing access to education and care from early childhood on and including a larger number of children in disadvantaged groups (Roma children) in highquality preschool programs. Roma children are often overrepresented in special and segregated schools. We should strengthen the ties between communities via mediators between cultures and schools, associations and religious communities and the participation of Roma parents, as well as improve intercultural competences of teachers, reduce segregation and guarantee compulsory assistance in Primary Education. Mediators may inform and advise parents on the operation of the local educational system and help children in transition between different stages in their school itinerary. In many countries, the training needed to work with children at risk is included in the initial training, but it doesn’t take sufficiently into account many other aspects of diversity. Although the professionalization and specialization of such personnel has improved, it still remains very low. And to support it, the European Commission promotes the identification and sharing of best practices and policies through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the subjects of education and training in the Member States (Education and Training 2020) and supports the development of innovative approaches by transnational projects and networks. According to the Monitoring Commission for the Implementation of the National Program for the Roma, targets set out in the Plan of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 in direct reference to improving the situation of Roma students are:

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

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Pre-School education. Inclusion of Roma Children (male and female) in pre-school education programmes. Primary Education. Inclusion of all Roma children in the system of compulsory primary education. Secondary education. Increasing the number of Roma students (male and female) enrolled and graduating from secondary school. Informal education. Awareness-raising campaigns on the preservation of Roma culture, language and customs for Roma and non-Roma populations.

On March 31, 2005, the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015, while the Plan of Action of the Decade of Inclusion for the years 2009 and 2010 was adopted on July 16, 2009. In these documents, the Government of the Republic of Croatia shows its strong dedication and willingness to assume new commitments to overcome the difficulties that the Roma national minority has faced in Croatia and the EU for many years. The Action Plan also gathers cross-cutting themes like combating discrimination and poverty and promoting gender equality. As identified in the last report of UNICEF Program Document for Croatia 2012-2016 dealing with the situation of children (E/ICEF/2011/P/L.1) about 10 percent of children under 14 live in poor households, the most vulnerable among them are Roma children. The vulnerability of this group continues despite Croatia’s participation in the intergovernmental initiative Decade of Roma Inclusion (2010-2015). Although Croatia offers good coverage of overall social protection, new policies are needed to strengthen social recovery.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

INCLUSION OF PUPILS BELONGING TO THE ROMA NATIONAL MINORITY AND THE ROLE OF THE MEDIATOR Mirko Marković, consultant at the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia

Parallel to the implementation of the National Program for Roma, the Republic of Croatia has expressed its readiness to join several other European countries and take part in the Decade for the Inclusion of Roma 20052015, which was started by a group of relevant regional and international stakeholders. By implementing the National Program for Roma (adopted in 2003) and acceding the Decade for the Inclusion of Roma, the Republic of Croatia also applies the basic goals of the United Nations’ Millennium Development and the Social Inclusion Program of the

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European Union through its program intended for the most vulnerable minority population in Europe – the Roma. In order to adjust its activities and efforts for the inclusion of Roma to the Decade’s goals, in 2005 the Republic of Croatia adopted the Action Plan for the Decade for the Inclusion of Roma 2005-2015 (hereinafter: APDR). The plan listed the precise goals, measures, indicators and institutions responsible for the implementation of measures for the advancement of the lives of Roma in the areas of education, housing, employment and healthcare. Seeing as the initiative started by the Decade for the Inclusion of Roma extended over a longer period of time, and since it possessed external (on the part of the Decade) and internal mechanisms for monitoring the implementation (committees which monitor the implementation of measures in Croatia), as well as certain financial structural support, primarily through the Roma Education Fund (REF), the APDR represented the key document in the field of Roma inclusion. In its attempts to improve the position and life conditions of the Roma national minority and include members of the Roma community in public and social life, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has regularly secured financial means from the State budget for the implementation of the National Program for Roma (NPR) and the APDR. The National Strategy for the Inclusion of Roma for the Period from 2013 to 2020 (hereinafter: the Strategy) was adopted at the end of 2012, while the Action Plan for the implementation of the above Strategy (hereinafter: AP NSUR) was adopted in April 2013. The Strategy has ‘inherited’ the National Program

for Roma. It encompasses a scope wider than the one recommended by the EU Framework, but on the other hand it introduces innovations in relation to the National Program for Roma. The main areas covered by the Strategy involve: education, employment, inclusion in economic life, healthcare, social care, urban planning, housing, environmental protection, inclusion in social and cultural life, associations and status solutions, suppression of discrimination and help in achieving rights. In accordance with the Strategy and the AP NSUR 2013-2015, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has reached the Decision on forming a Committee for monitoring the implementation of the National strategy and the Solution on the appointment of committee members for monitoring the implementation of NSUR and AP. The Committee president is the vice-president of the Croatian Government and his deputy is a Member of Parliament who acts as the Roma representative in the Croatian Parliament. The Committee is comprised in equal number by representatives of competent state bodies and representatives of the Roma national minority chosen after the execution of the Public Call. The Committee’s task is to systematically monitor and coordinate the implementation of the Strategy, propose measures for the advancement of the implementation of the Strategy and the AP for the implementation of the Strategy, the creation of recommendations, opinions, expert statements and reports and guidelines related to the implementation of the Strategy. They must also propose changes and additions to the Strategy and Action Plan, monitor schedules and the consumption of funds for the Strategy, which are secured from the State budget of the Republic of Croatia, the distribution of financial funds for solving problems and improving life conditions of members of the Roma national minority.

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIĂ&#x201C;N OF ROMA STUDENTS

Expert and administrative jobs for the Committee and its work groups are carried out by the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities.

A total of 6.825 students belonging to the Roma national minority were included in the system of upbringing and education (from pre-school to higher education) in the school year 2013/2014.

the co-financing of the parental stake for each Roma child, which attends kindergarten within the integrated pre-school program. In a large number of environments there is no possibility for inclusion into integrated conditions of pre-school upbringing in a regular preschool institution. For now, this presents a serious problem because of the decentralization of pre-school upbringing and the large number of small municipalities which cannot co-finance pre-school upbringing in their territories. As founders of kindergartens, municipalities should be responsible for an important part of the activities necessary for the quality preparation of all children, and especially Roma children, for attending the first grade of elementary school. This is the reason for the introduction of the program of pre-school, i.e. the program of preparation for attending elementary school. It is most often executed in elementary schools and partly in pre-school institutions, where there is often no integration or the integration is symbolic, regardless of whether only some children in the group are not Roma or only some Roma children are included in the integrated groups. The pre-school program is most often carried out only for Roma children so as to prepare them for attending the first grade as much and as well as possible, and to teach them, as much as possible, the Croatian language, according to their age group.

Pre-school education: the program of pre-school upbringing and education is exceptionally important for Roma children. Ensuring their inclusion into programs of pre-school upbringing is necessary in order to bridge the gap between the socio-economic situation in which Roma children live and the possibility for their successful integration in the course of compulsory elementary education. The Republic of Croatia is the first member of the Decade (from 2009) to have secured, on a state level,

In 2013, more precisely at the end of school year 2012/2013, 764 children were part of pre-school upbringing, 351 of which (160 male and 191 female) were in regular (integrated) pre-school upbringing and 413 of which (203 male and 210 female) were in pre-school programs. A total of 769 children were included at the beginning of school year 2013/2014. 390 of them (180 male and 210 female) were in preschool upbringing and 379 (184 male and 195 female)

Within the Republic of Croatiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one-year presidency over the Decade for the Inclusion of Roma, the conference Quality Education for Roma: the Sustainability of the Educational Politics Developed within the Decade on an European Level was held in Zagreb on 22nd and 23rd April 2013. This international conference was organized by the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. Its participants included almost a hundred government and civil society representatives from member states of the Decade, representatives of Roma organizations and international organizations, EU representatives and experts from the field of education from 12 member states of the Decade, Italy, and Great Britain. The inclusion of Roma students and the role of mediators

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were in pre-school programs. The amount of 3 131 967, 31 HRK was paid from the State budget for pre-school upbringing and pre-school programs in 2013. This significant increase in the consumption of funds for preschool upbringing was caused by the implementation of measures for the execution of the verdict in the case Oršuš et al versus Croatia. The Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, in agreement with the county of Međimurje, secured a pre-school program for all Roma children in the year before they start elementary school, i.e. for children who were enrolled at the first grade of elementary school in the school year 2012/2013. The children were in the pre-school program from 15 September 2011 to 15 June 2012, five hours per day, with two meals and transportation. Consequently, the children were included in the pre-school program during the whole school year (from 15 September of the current year to 15 June of the following year), five hours per day, and were provided with two meals and transportation. The pre-school program is essential for Roma population of pre-school age. It achieves good results and points to the necessity of organizing pre-school upbringing groups for all Roma children in order to prepare them for inclusion in the system of upbringing and education, especially in environments where there are no capacities for integrated pre-school upbringing. The pre-school program depends on financing from State budget funds in the position of the National Program for Roma. The sustainability of this program is rendered more difficult by the diversion of priority because in the case of the execution of the verdict of the European Court for Human Rights, after the introduction of pre-school for all the children in Međimurje, only a small portion of funds remained for pre-school programs in other parts

of Croatia. A solution for the problem is to be found within the project Integration of Groups in Unfavourable Positions in the Regular Educational System funded by the EU from the IPA help program. The first kindergarten to integrate all Roma children from their earliest age was the kindergarten Maslačak in Mursko Središće, which started the integration process in 2006 with the help of REF funds. Elementary education: the past six years saw a significant increase in the number of children belonging to the Roma national minority included in elementary education (elementary schools), and the number continues to rise. In school year 2011/2012, there were 4.882 pupils (2.449 male, 2.433 female). At the beginning of school year 2012/2013, there were 5.173 pupils (2.612 male, 2.561 female), while there were 5.311 pupils (2.671 male, 2.640 female) at the end of that school year. There was a total of 5.470 pupils (2 769 male, 2 701 female) belonging to the Roma national minority at the beginning of school year 2013/2014. Data about the number of pupils leaving elementary school after multiple repetitions show that completion of elementary education is still at a low level (see table). The total number of pupils who abandoned their education also included pupils who had turned 15 (and thus ceased to be obliged to attend school) and who have not finished elementary school.

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIĂ&#x201C;N OF ROMA STUDENTS

School year Number of withdrawn pupils Number of male / female Number of repeaters Number of male / female Number of pupils â&#x20AC;&#x201C; study assistance Number of male / female Number of pupils in extended stay Number of male / female

2008/2009 136

2009/2010 144

2010/2011 173

2011/2012 189

2012/2013 153

68 / 68

69 / 75

101 / 72

102 / 87

83 /70

587

604

464

428

348 /239

331 /273

250 / 214

428 / 193

555

700

362

511

289 / 266

341 / 359

229

340

246

256

362

548

124 / 105

.183 / 157

142 / 104

141 / 115

190 / 172

293 / 255

When it comes to class repetition, data shows that up to a certain level the increase in the number of repeaters is the result of more regular class attendance and a larger number of pupils in elementary education. Starting with school year 2010/2011, data has been collected about the number of Roma pupils who have been offered special assistance in learning Croatian based on Article 43 of the Law on Upbringing and Education in Elementary Schools and High Schools. Assistance in learning Croatian has been offered in nine (9) counties to 555 pupils (289 male, 266 female) out of the 4 723 (2 409 male, 2 314 female) Roma pupils in elementary school in that school

2013/2014 -

year. The number of pupils in extended stay continues to grow, but not sufficiently considering the needs and conditions in which most Roma pupils live, and which do not include even minimal conditions for studying. 548 pupils (293 male, 255 female) were included in the extended stay program in 7 counties, which means that only 10% of Roma pupils were included in the extended stay program. This created specific preconditions for them to become more successful pupils and to receive help in understanding the curriculum. Certain breakthroughs achieved in the county of

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Međimurje were co-financed by the Ministry of Health, Education and Sport and the REF, given the condition that extended stay in three elementary schools (one in the county of Međimurje and two in the county of Varaždin) shall be continued, and that the Ministry of Health, Education and Sport would finance one half of the project, while the other half would be financed through the budgets of counties which founded the schools. Most of the schools in the county of Međimurje hire Roma helpers. There are 26 of them (15 male, 11 female) and their work is financed from the State budget, as well as that of all other elementary school employees. 1 608 757, 91 HRK was spent for the salaries of 26 employees – Roma helpers – in 2013. In accordance with the Law on Upbringing and Education in Elementary Schools and High Schools, the end of 2011 marked the beginning of the process of hiring Roma helpers on the basis of work contracts (they were previously hired on the basis of service contracts). The Education and Teacher Training Agency (Agencija za odgoj i obrazovanje, hereinafter: AZOO) also began the professional training of cooperates – Roma helpers. Measures for the execution of the verdict in the case Oršuš et al aim, among other things, to increase the organization of different activities which would: a) provide cultural affirmation for the Roma population with its specificities, knowledge and craft, b) contribute to the bigger connection and common activities with the non-Roma population in their life surroundings, c) increased circulation of famous or important persons from other parts of the Republic of Croatia and abroad whose visits would set a powerful example and model for the accomplishment of the goals of efficient coexistence in the community and encourage more effective teaching and learning. It is necessary to

implement identical and similar programs in schools, which will be feasible during special holidays and various celebrations of significant events and visits by famous persons. Work with parents and with all the citizens of the county of Međimurje should include knowledge about conventions and their application, insistence on teaching about the values of knowledge, responsibility, tolerance, solidarity. Work with principals is necessary in the sense of specific problems in the county of Međimurje, so that they might be assisted in solving those problems in timely manner, because they demand more efficient school management and running and more intensive cooperation with Roma and non-Roma parents. In 2013, 229 963, 40 HRK from the State budget was spent on educational programs, excursions, nature studies, extracurricular activities, extended stay, etc., bringing the total amount of money spent in 2013 to 1 728 976, 32 HRK. High school education: from year to year, the number of Roma students included in high school education increases. On the occasion of inscription in the Decision on the Elements and Criteria for the Choice of Candidates for the Enrolment in High School, which was adopted by the competent ministry (the Ministry of Health, Education and Sport), the number of Roma students was determined, so that students who live in difficult conditions are helped and it is made easier for them to enrol at the high school program of their choice. Although the number of students who continue their education in three-year programs is bigger in comparison to the number of Roma students in four-year programs, there is a notable increase in the number of students enrolled in the first year of four-year schools. It is also visible that students drop out of school, i.e. abandon their education. Data on the change in the number of high

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIĂ&#x201C;N OF ROMA STUDENTS

school students, scholarships, repeaters and students who choose not to continue their education can be found in the table below. Since enrolment at three-year vocational schools is still prevalent, there will be a need for stronger engagement, support for students and encouragement for their parents where enrolment in four-year programs is concerned. The Ministry of Health, Education and Sport gives all Roma high school students scholarships in the amount of 5 000, 00 HRK per year per student, i.e. 500,00 HRK per month during the whole. In the last four years there has been a significant increase in the number of high school students and scholarships. In the school year 2008/2009, 265 students were given scholarships, while the number of student scholarships increased to 480 in school year 2012/2013. 2 125 000, 00 HRK was spent on high school scholarships in 2012, while the money spent on scholarships in 2013 amounted to 2 429 656, 96 HRK. Excursions and accommodation into dorms are cofinanced for students in need. 82 075, 00 HRK was spent on excursions in 2013, while 46 213, 80 HRK was spent on accommodation into student homes. Special forms of classes (summer school) and nature studies were organized for Roma students in 2013: summer school for 32 students. Higher education: State budget funds are provided for scholarships for all Roma students who apply for them, given that they declare themselves as members of the Roma national minority. The scholarship amounts to 1 000, 00 HRK per month in the course of ten months, i.e. 10 000, 00 HRK per year. Scholarships were given to 29 students in the academic year 2011/2012 and 290 000, 00 HRK from the State budget was spent to that purpose. In the academic year 2012/2013, a total of 23 (7 male,

16 female) students were given scholarships to the total amount of 230 000, 00 HRK through the National Trust for the Support of Pupil and Student Standard, which has been announcing scholarship competitions from 2012. In 2013, the National Trust awarded scholarships to 23 Roma students, while the City of Zagreb awarded 2 scholarships to Roma students. Adult education: Members of the Roma national minority were included in the project Decade of Literacy in Croatia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for Croatian Literacy 2003-2012. In 2012, 311 adults (156 male, 155 female) participated in literacy and training programs. The number of Roma included in the system of adult education during 2013 totalled 495 (323 male, 172 female). 446 of them (297 male, 149 female) were included in the literacy program and 49 were in the program of training for the first profession, while the total amount of funds stood at 984 700, 00 HRK. The biggest problems in relation to the education of Roma in the field of elementary education are: irregular class attendance, a low rate of completion of elementary education, i.e. abandoning education after turning 15 years of age, inadequate tracking of the representation of Roma children who are being educated through special programs for children with difficulties, inadequate planning and discontinued financing of extended stay programs, a lack of continued and focused support for education workers who work with Roma children and a lack of consistent implementation of measures for the repression of segregation. Educational segregation has a negative effect on three key levels which contribute to the inclusion of Roma in the society. Its most direct an intense effect is on the

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

Total number of students Number of students who have dropped out of school Number of repeaters State budget funds for scholarships (in HRK)

2010. 327 (158 male / 169 female) 57 (27male / 30 female)

2011. 425 (214 male / 211 female) 67 (30 male / 37 female)

2012. 480 (286 male / 294 female) 63 (34male / 29 female)

2103. 586 (328 male /258 female)

20 (9male / 11 female)

45 (30male / 15 female) 1.598 820,00

53 (38male / 15 female) 2.125 000,00

52 (35male / 17 female) 2.429 656,96

Scholarship funds are continually increased: 2.429 656, 96 HRK was paid up in 2013. reduction of quality of the education received by Roma children. According to the European Court for Human Rights’ verdict, Roma students who attend classes where there are no other students, so-called segregated classes, stand a big chance of becoming less successful students, to abandon their education earlier and to have significantly smaller chances and success in finding jobs, i.e. on the labour market, or to only be able to do jobs which do not require a high level of skill, which is the type of job the Roma typically perform. On the other hand, Roma children who attend ‘mixed’ classes, i.e. integrated classes, face the challenges of inclusion in the school program and fitting in the environment of the rest of the population. On the other hand, teachers in ‘Roma’ classes face difficult working conditions and limited funds and abilities for the implementation of additional support programs necessary for Roma children. It is necessary to provide information, education and methods for raising the awareness of the Roma population, parents and

children, to raise awareness in the Roma community about the harm of consuming addictive substances. This Special Objective is in accordance with the goals and priorities of the National Program for the Prevention of Addiction for children and youth in the educational system, and children and youth in the system of social care. Special emphasis must be placed on the need for additional education of all the workers in educational institutions attended by Roma children. In order to ensure that the children receive a quality education and to even out all the children’s possibilities for achieving equal educational accomplishments, teachers working with the most vulnerable population should be motivated for work, highly educated and committed to their continued professional improvement. Significant reinforcements are necessary in the support mechanisms for educators, teachers, expert associates and principals. It is also necessary to strengthen workers’ capacities for tracking the work quality in multicultural surroundings and with children from socially deprived families, as

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

well as in the recognition of discriminatory practices in education workers’ activity. In addition to presenting a pedagogic challenge, work with children from socially deprived families often presents an emotional burden. Education workers should therefore receive additional specific education in the field of stress management, as well as counselling and supervision. The Education and Teacher Training Agency has continued professional training based on the Curriculum for Teaching Croatian as a Foreign Language in the aim of facilitating the study of Croatian as a foreign language and of easier inclusion of foreign language-speaking students into the educational process. Between 35 and 40 participants attended those courses. The workshops took place in Čakovec (30 January – 12 November 2013), as did the final conference for the project. A workshop was held in connection with the Strategy for Teaching and Learning Croatian as a Foreign Language: a congress primarily meant for teachers from the county of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Lika-Senj who teach foreign language-speaking students. The Education and Teacher Training Agency also organized the introductory seminar Approach Focused on the Pre-school Child whose participants were kindergarten teachers. They also organized the project Getting Ready for School, within which workshops were given once a week from January to June 2013 in four elementary schools. The workshops were organized for Roma parents with preschool children. The schools included in the project were Vladimir Vidrić Elementary School in Kutina, Orehovica Elementary School in Orehovica, Tomaž Goričanec Elementary School in Mala Subotica and Dr. Ivan Novak Elementary School in Macinec. More than 100 parents were included in the workshop. This practice of mutual cooperation should be encouraged and continued. The implementation of external evaluation of Roma education and upbringing in elementary schools and the presentation of the results of this external evaluation should be carried out by the National Centre for the External Evaluation of Education, as well as expert control of knowledge of the Croatian language. The most suitable educational model for individuals or student groups should be based on the results of these evaluations. The models would serve for the study of the Croatian language, achieving successful integration and socialization and improving school success. In accordance with the Strategy, there has been an increase in number of Roma children in integrated preschool upbringing and pre-school program and in the number of students included in elementary and high

school education. There has been a slight decrease in the number of students in higher education, which might partly be the consequence of the long-lasting, severe economic crisis and the inability to hire those Roma persons who have successfully completed their higher education.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIĂ&#x201C;N OF ROMA STUDENTS

CHAPTER II

INTERCULTURAL MEDIATION AS A PROFESSIONAL TOOL The content of this publication is meant to ease the acquisition of new skills for those professionals who exert their efforts in the implementation of potentially mediative activities in order to improve the integration of Roma children in the educational system. The manual may also be useful for the introduction of good practices, methods and tools for professionals who directly or indirectly work with Roma children. On the other hand, it may also serve as an addition to the work that is already being done by professionals. In this way, it can offer new educational and social challenges. Different countries hire mediators to the purpose of improving the education of Roma children. However, the practical aspects of these working positions differ greatly, depending on the country, while the situation differs the most when considering the inclusion of children from the Roma community in the educational system. The mediator figure can mostly be seen as able to become a part of educational institutions, local government or

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

CHAPTER II

Intercultural mediation as a professional tool

civil society organizations. In this sense it is necessary to emphasize the difference between mediators and teachers who offer additional support to Roma children: »» »»

Teachers only satisfy the children’s needs in educational activities (learning in class, homework, etc). Mediators perform a more global function – they bring together the family, the school and the child. They also perform the function of establishing closer relations with the community environment.

Intercultural mediation Mediation is used in a great number of areas both as a means and as a way of solving conflicts and also as an answer to different needs. In multicultural contexts, the application of mediation is relatively new and has a limited theoretical and practical heritage. Conflicts are closely related to human relations and they constantly appear. Their frequency and seriousness largely depend on the ability of persons and groups to prevent them, solve them when they appear and use them to further their mutual understanding and improve their interaction. Mediation is a means that conflicted parties resort to in order to overcome their conflict, in which both parties are protagonists, while the mediator must remain neutral and dedicated to managing the process which will lead the conflicted parties to a satisfactory solution for everyone involved. In multicultural contexts, there are also other characteristics which make the need for mediation different and relevant in comparison to others. Firstly, we are talking about persons who belong to different socio-cultural and ethnic groups which share the same

social space. The majority collective whose values and cultural codes are dominant coexists with different minority collectives who demand the right to remain different and not have cultural hegemony eradicate their characteristics. On a socio-economic level, it is visible that the average rate of members of those minority collectives who find themselves in unfavorable social situations is higher than the average rate of members of the majority collective in the same situation. This has a negative impact on their access to basic needs and on their ability to act, understand and manage the codes of the majority culture. Within this frame, there is an apparent need for stimulating communication between persons belonging to the majority culture and those belonging to minority cultures, because communication is jeopardized by spatial segregation under the influence of stereotypes and prejudice which the two groups have about each other. The vulnerability which characterizes persons from minority cultural collectives demands that the methodologies of social intervention be adapted in accordance with the specificities of these groups. In some cases, emphasis will be placed on the inequalities and discrimination concerning the access to resources and satisfying basic needs. In other cases, it will be useful to achieve a synergy between common resources and resources belonging to the community itself. In conclusion, figures of professional mediators present a triple connection for supporting groups which comprise the educational community: For families. Direct contact with them, counselling about educational questions (administrative and legal, educational plans and programs, etc), knowledge of the

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

Roma language and their role of mediator in connecting schools with other educational institutions.

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For schools. By contextualizing the reality of the communities in schools, training teachers in multicultural questions, intercultural activities in the school context...

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For children. By offering support during their transition into the following phases of education, including activities for offering extracurricular support and entertainment, social promotion and integration into groups of equals... PROFILE, TASKS AND CODE OF CONDUCT It is important to emphasize those skills, abilities and attitudes which are desirable and appropriate for the profile of professional mediators for integration. Some of their most important functions within the frame of each of their areas of influence on children include: With regard to family and minors »» Visiting families, especially those who live in underprivileged neighbourhoods and areas, in order to establish their social surroundings, the parents’ attitudes and the children’s position. »» Offering specific activities to Roma families. »» Motivating parents to participate in their children’s education and school activities. »» Offering support to children in schools. »» Organizing potentially inclusive activities for children. Abilities and skills »» It is exceptionally important to have a thorough knowledge of the Roma culture as a whole.

If possible, to possess knowledge of the language applied in the educational system, as well as knowledge of the Roma community’s language. To understand the ‘’cultural codes’’ of the majority culture and of the Roma culture.

In regard to the school »» To be acquainted with the school environment (the educational system, the school, teachers, available resources and capacities for children in unfavourable positions, especially Roma children). In regard to the community or the context. »» Notifying the community about the measures relating to the education of Roma children and raising awareness among Roma families about the importance of pre-school upbringing and education and school education. Abilities and skills »» Mediators should be acquainted with the local community in general, and the Roma community in particular. »» To be acquainted the local authorities, especially the social care and child protection system. Mediators must also possess good communication skills. Mediators’ possible tasks According to the situation, the priorities set by the European and national framework, and in relation to the educational system, mediators’ main lines of work may focus on: »» Early inclusion in the educational system. It is necessary to advocate the improvement of inclusion and early support. »» Ensuring class attendance.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

»» »» »» »» »» »»

Prevention and control of abandoning education. Encouraging academic success. Fostering positive relations between Roma and non-Roma children. Focusing on the reasons because of which pupils miss classes or leave school. Increasing chances for academic success and inclass support. Analyzing problems faced by the local community, such as the approach to school, i.e. non-acceptance of the school by the local Roma community.

In a practical sense, the mediator’s work will mostly focus on: »» Active cooperation in the integration of Roma children into schools, especially at the beginning of the school year; »» Enabling communication between the school and Roma parents: »» Fostering a school environment which encourages intercultural communication between members of Roma and non-Roma communities, and which is based on mutual understanding and acceptance. »» Fostering and promoting activities which bring together families, schools and the social and cultural surroundings. »» Acting as intermediaries between different establishments involved in the processes of socialization of Roma children. Generally, we must advocate: »» Cooperation with school management »» Rendering the parents sensitive »» Communication with parents, children and teachers »» Organization of meetings and events »» Managing conflicts and structural imbalance

»» »»

Cultural identity Fostering mediction activities

Basic rules or Code of conduct Mediators involved in socio-educational processes must serve as reference models of professionals for the community as a whole by respecting questions which appear within the processes of completing basic tasks. It is important to constantly bear in mind the following: Respect of human rights, the dignity of all people and fostering equality in the actualization of those rights. The mediator acts from the perspective of respecting human rights in order to ensure that members of the Roma community wholly benefit from the rights that they are entitled to. The mediator offers support in overcoming possible obstacles which might disable real equality in rights. In some cases it is necessary to take special measures in order to take into consideration certain specific needs. The mediator is trusted both by the Roma community and by the public institutions, and respected as a professional with specific tasks. The mediator cooperates with interested parties in finding solutions, to their mutual pleasure. The mediator acts as an intermediary who presents the needs of the Roma community’s members, as well as the institution’s needs, and he/she cooperates in both parties’ agreement. The mediator does not accuse any of the involved parties, because his/her task is to improve relations and advocate both sides’ interests. In this sense, the mediator possesses a certain degree of neutrality in relation to the parties involved, but he/ she is familiar with the facts and manages the Roma population’s and public institution employees’ needs in

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

a careful, balanced manner. The mediator protects the confidentiality of data obtained in the course of his/her professional activity. All information obtained during their working process shall remain confidential and will not be given to third persons or institutions, except if there is an explicit agreement with the person who shared the information with the mediator, with the exception of situations where there exists a threat to a person’s safety. Everyone must be aware of the existence of data confidentiality. No one, not even the principal of the institution hiring the mediator, can ask him/her to beach the confidentiality codex. The mediator respects communities, under the condition that they are in accordance with the basic principles of human rights and democracy. Some communities have specific traditions and ways of life and different norms with regard to the majority society. The mediator shall become acquainted with those traditions and norms, respect them and support or understand them. The only exception is the case when some community norms and customs are not compatible with the principles of human rights and democracy. The mediator treats all the members of a community with the same respect and brings to public notice situations where there is a conflict of interests. Regardless of his/her status, the mediator shall treat everyone involved with respect and work towards satisfying their demands in a fair, transparent way. In this sense, it must be pointed out that in the case of Roma mediators, if the mediator’s family members or other persons close to the mediator are involved in the conflict, this must be pointed out and external support

should be found for the mediation process. The mediator is proactive in implementing preventive activities and cooperates with other professionals / multidisciplinary teams. The mediator must be proactive and they must not wait for the problem to appear, but rather constantly implement situation analysis and act preventively in potentially conflicting situations. The mediator is a professional necessary for close cooperation with other skilled workers (social workers, teachers, etc) with the aim of reaching set objectives in a more effective way. Mediators must use different situations for the exchange of experiences and for sharing successful solutions and useful information. PROFESSIONAL TOOLS The child plays truant because it imitates the behaviour it witnesses, since its brothers, friends, colleagues or neighbours do the same (models of truancy). The child may also simply not want to go to school and it may prefer to stay on the street. The socio-familial reality which surrounds the pupil prone to truancy is the decisive factor for the truancy itself. At best, the parents can only read and write, and as a rule they engage in activities characteristic of the black economy, with annual incomes which present serious difficulties for survival. The individual and educational dimension of the truancy problem are conditioned by other factors which may be found outside school, in the pupil’s immediate proximity, i.e. the family, the community, the social group which the child belongs to. We start from the following assumption: underage pupils who come from environments in unfavourable positions (serious economic, social and cultural privation) face aggravating

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

circumstances and encounter many more difficulties in achieving a wholesome personal growth. On the educational plan, this turns out in a lack of interest for everything connected with school, which in most cases causes truancy.

from the educational system: they do not appreciate the importance of the syllabus, they do not appear at parent-teacher meetings, etc. This apathy usually causes the minor to reject school, which encourages truancy and consequently their failure in school.

If we analyze the reality of the problem, we shall determine the absolute accuracy of a claim that is repeated in all the reports submitted by different bodies in charge of school failure, and which says the following: ‘’In the largest number of cases of school failure, the socio-familial context of the minors in question is very negative for their individual and social development’’. In this sense, unfavourable working conditions (unemployment, occasional work, black economy, etc) have multiple negative consequences which impact the family dynamics, because not only do they reflect on the economic sphere, they also foster the creation of familial and individual problems experienced by parents or guardians, such as anxiety, depression, etc. These problems reflect negatively on the care the parents or guardians are supposed to give to minors. Furthermore, the incompatibility with school is often conditioned by the need to have the children partake in earning money. This often happens in Roma families where it is considered that children’s ‘’economic value’’ is very high (street sales, caring about their siblings, etc).

Class attendance is an unalienable right and it is of the utmost importance, because it constitutes one of the necessary foundations for achieving the pupil’s social and educational integration. Therefore, different programs and activities must be interpreted as a set of measures which improve the fulfilment of that right. »» It is considered exceptionally important to achieve progress in the process of making the members of the educational community realize the need for regular class attendance. »» The designed measures must be interpreted as positive interventions in favour of the right to education, although that right sometimes might not overlap with the expectations or wishes of some pupils, their families or other instances in the society. It is therefore considered relevant, in that sense, to take preventive action by designing a functional educational and curricular model suited to the pupils’ abilities. »» The problematic includes numerous facets of an educational, familial, personal and social nature. These situations demand coordinated action by the institutions, as a means which enables significant improvement of situations of social risk to which collectives in unfavourable positions might be exposed, and which provides answers to their educational needs. »» The intervention should be aimed at families and those pupils who play truant and/or are not involved in the system and/or those who have abandoned

The level of the parents’ or guardians’ education is very low, with a high percentage of illiteracy, which makes it harder for grown-up family members to participate in the labour market. This causes a lack of motivation and interest, which the parents generally exhibit in connection with aspects related to the world of education. Pupils who experience school failure mostly come from families characterized by distance

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

»»

the educational system in school age. The initial measures should be preventive on the level of pre-school upbringing and education (although this phase is not obligatory) and preventive and palliative in elementary and secondary education. They should focus on keeping pupils in school and achieving success in an age in which education is obligatory. Even though the notion of absenteeism is applied to all pupils who play truant, especially those who do it often, it is necessary to adjust certain qualitative and quantitative criteria, with the aim of facilitating the comparative evaluation of the phenomenon in every institution, especially in cases where the level of truancy takes on meaningful dimensions. Typically, it involves pupils who repeatedly play truant during the whole school year, and who have a very high percentage of unexplained absences. This kind of behaviour is often connected with social problems, with situations of socially unfavourable positions, with dysfuncional families or other contextual problems which are not always visible. Pupils who play truant a lot manifest specific educational needs because, among other things, they display a significant degree of maladjustment to the school environment and are at serious risk from lateness in the retention of the syllabus. Absenteeism is interpreted as a complex phenomenon with many causes and factors, seeing as it mostly features circumstances of a social, familial, economic, and cultural type. It is important to analyze the influence of the different factors involved in the process in order to correctly interpret the phenomenon within its context and in order to be able to apply the most suitable solution in each case.

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It is considered that the phenomenon of absenteeism is closely connected to educational compensation for the perceived correlation between truancy and situations of unfavourable positions. It is often connected to environments characterized by a scarcity of economic, social and cultural resources, although in some cases absenteeism is mostly related to age (pre-puberty) and a lack of motivation.

These pupils find themselves in an unfavourable position and it is much harder for them to achieve personal development. On the educational plan, this turns out in a lack of interest for everything connected to studying, which mostly causes truancy. This situation deprives the child of stimulation and possibilities, which conditions its life both on a short and long term. In this case, the solution must come out of the close cooperation of all the institutions connected with the problematic of underage youth, which influences all the social aspects that surround the minor in question: school, family, and community/ context. In order to successfully solve the problem of school failure, we must first define the term in the most functional way possible. The definition of school failure is influenced by myriad factors which appear within an increasingly complex social and economical context and which demand a comprehensive approach and real participation of all the actors and institutions, be they political, social or economical, which bear responsibilities in the field of education and inclusion in the labour market. The difficulty in analyzing the subject of the research stems precisely from the meanings which are a cultural

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

construct and which condition the perception of school failure in the sense of negativity and exclusion. Hence, school failure should be interpreted in a socio-cultural context. In that sense, Marchesi (2006) points out that it is congruent to evaluate failure in the sense of the influence it will have on the pupils in their personal and professional future. This influence will mostly result in a deficiency of resources for facing the search for quality employment (stable, well-paid, etc), as well as a lack of the ability to adjust to the increasingly demanding and unstable labour market. We can thus understand school failure as a deficiency which limits and jeopardizes the possibility of a successful professional career and therefore reflects negatively on their adult life as a whole. With regard to the concept of school absenteeism, it represents one of the clearest manifestations of the difficulties of inclusion in school life which appear during childhood. This progressive and repeated alienation from school will result in a difficult and problematic approach to work, culture... It is defined as the repeated nonattendance of compulsory classes, whether caused by the will of the minor, parent or by the repeated removal from class. We believe that the cause of absenteeism lies firstly in defective socialization and that there are different types of absenteeism, depending on its frequency. We also believe that absenteeism stems from another, more complex problem, and that the problem in question lies in two different environments: whether familial, or educational, or both at the same time. We can therefore define absenteeism as: the occasional, frequent or complete unexplained absence from class of a pupil who was previously enrolled at school and

is of school age, whether of the pupil’s own or his/her parents’ will, where the absence might be a symptom of conflict within the family and/or socio-economic and cultural problems, all of which may have a negative impact on the correct process of socialization. In this way we can specifically identify the ways in which this problem may manifest itself, depending on three different variables: frequency, quality and quantity of its appearance. Depending on its frequency: »» Occasional: irregular absences during the year. The number of absences is not alarming in itself, but it prevents quality education and successful studying. »» Intermittent: appears and disappears in certain periods throughout the year. Might be connected to specific socio-economic phenomena, such as fruitpicking, fairs, etc. »» Initial: classes are regularly attended up to the first school holidays, when periods of complete absence appear. »» Complete: the pupil does not attend classes from the beginning to the end of the school year. »» Special: the pupil leaves home but does not come to school or disappears from school after arriving there. The following categories may be established according to quantity: »» Moderate (less than 15% of monthly classes) »» Middle (when the absences refer to 15-50% of monthly classes) »» Heavy (when the absences exceed 50% of monthly classes)

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

According to quality, depending on the cause, the types of absenteeism may be: »» Familial: caused by the pupil’s family. The types of families according to the clearest cause of absenteeism are cited below: Caused by familial passivity: families are conditioned by traditions, they do not control the minor who plays truant, and they do not worry and/or are unorganized, highly protective, passive towards school and occupied with other matters. Actively caused by parents: because of the parents’ occupations, dysfuncional families which encourage underage work. »» School: caused by elements related to the educational system and/or the school environment. Different kinds: Caused by the educational system: If the educational institution does not dispose of enough human and material resources for offering individualized educational support, the chance that absenteeism will appear in those pupils who already have an integration problem, dramatically increases, seeing as they will not find efficient answers to the problems they face. Furthermore, staff that is not specifically prepared and trained for an individualized approach to pupils may become an instrument for supporting absenteeism, because it does not know how to handle cases of absenteeism, truancy and school failure. Actively caused by the pupil: maladjustment or lack of integration in the school, inability to follow classes, lack of interest or rejecting school. Lack of basic learning skills caused by an earlier prolonged absenteeism. With regard to the inability to follow classes The impossibility to follow classes, understood as a cause of school failure, includes three kinds of abilities which should be acquired in the course of one’s education:

»» »» »»

Conceptual, related to knowledge. These are the most general abilities and they concern curricular concepts and contents as such. Procedural, which concern the know-how and are related to the procedure and skill necessary to apply retained concepts and contents. Finally, the abilities which concern behaviour and include attitudes and skills which every individual acquires in the course of their life.

The first two types of ability relate to the impossibility of following the curriculum as such, while the third kind related to a set of circumstances pertaining to behaviour, which might harm or aggravate the minor’s situation and which is connected to the conditions under which the minor finds themselves in class or within their age group. Hence, we believe that the inability to follow classes is not caused only if the contents or competences defined by the curriculum are not retained, but also if there is a failure to retain the procedures necessary for their application, or when the pupil’s attitudes and behaviour are not suited to their age and therefore disable new adjustment to the class and to the educational institution. This is why we approach the inability to follow class within all three dimensions, with the aim of improving all the circumstances which may influence the maladjustment of the minor to the educational institution, i.e. disable the minor from finding their place within the class. This reduces situations which may encourage the pupil to resort to truancy or abandon school. MODELS OF SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL MEDIATION This perspective is based on the model of socioeducational mediation through encouraging social

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education. Social education is perceived as the citizens’ right materialized through the recognition of the pedagogical occupation, which creates educational contexts and mediative activities which fall under the category of professional competences, thus enabling inclusion into different social networks (sociability and circulation within the society) and cultural and social promotion. Potentially mediative activities Those are activities which follow and support processes which aim to cause the subject of education to come across cultural and social contents, other subjects or the location which has a social and educational value (García Molina, 2003). In this sense, we do not speak specifically about conflict mediation, and we also do not consider it to be teaching or the transmission of cultural content. We believe that mediation presents work that needs to be done in order to enable the subject of education to come across places, persons and contents. When perceived in this way, mediation aims towards the child’s emancipation and progressive social promotion. In this way, we can present some of the main axes for the development of activities within the frame of programs of socio-educative mediation aimed at improving the educational situation of Roma pupils. FAMILIAL SURROUNDINGS 1. Rendering family sensitive and including them in the promotion of education. 2. Offering information and support in the formalities necessary for enrolment at school. 3. Making the family responsible for the child’s regular class attendance (informing and sensibilization). 4. Making a family diagnosis in order to learn more

about the pupil’s circumstances. 5. Offering guidelines and information and including the family in the necessary educational habits. 6. Promoting the coordination between work, family and private life. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 1. Cooperating with the school in order to facilitate the parents’ access to school, thereby strengthening their participation in the educational process of their children. 2. Improving the implementation of minimal conditions necessary to facilitate and enable the regular adjustment of minors to the educational institution. 3. Promoting greater closeness, participation and inclusion among families and educational institutions. 4. Introducing programs for support, information and help with the aim of avoiding truancy and abandoning school at an early age. 5. Strengthening measures for offering support in the transition between elementary and secondary school. CONTEXT 1. Introducing mediation programs between families and schools, thereby encouraging the employment of skilled Roma workers. 2. Creating educational resources and resources for entertainment and pastime activities. 3. Guiding and following the use of external and standardized educational resources and resources for entertainment and pastime activities.

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ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE FRAME OF PROGRAMS FOR SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL MEDIATION OPERATIVE GOALS To identify the families whose children, aged 3 to 6, are not enrolled at (pre)school. To awaken and include the family in the promotion of pre-school education. To inform and assist with administrative procedures necessary for enrolment at school. Cooperation with schools in order to facilitate parents’ access to them and thus encourage them to take an active role in their children’s education. To encourage minimal conditions to facilitate and enable the child’s adequate adaptation to school. To achieve effective coordination with experts and school institutions.

ACTIVITIES Monitoring families where absences from school have been noticed before in the aim of preventing and stopping further absences. Informative meetings with families. Escorting the family to parent-teacher conferences. Informative meetings about enrolment (deadlines, conditions, advantages...) Assistance with enrolment. Filling out forms. Informing parents about teacher-parent conferences throughout the school year (at the beginning, trimesters...) Assistance in cases where it is necessary. Informative meetings about school supplies and material. Creating a school supply ‘bank’. Scholarships (supplies).

Monthly meetings with pre-school upbringing institutions. Maintaining phone contact with teams in charge of orientation and other experts working in the service of the community. Coordinating with educational institutions in the aim of planning common goals. To detect families whose children Coordinating with all educational institutions. do not attend/miss classes and/or Coordinating with social services. exhibit risky behaviour/habits. Coordinating with external experts (police, other institutions, etc).

To inform and assist with en- Informative meetings about enrolment, deadlines, conditions necessary for rolment at school. enrolment. Assistance with the enrolment itself. Filling out forms. To encourage minimal condi- Creating a ‘bank’ of school supplies and material in the aim of awarding tions and to enable the child’s scholarships. correct adaptation to school. 34

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Setting a diagnosis for the family in order to learn about the student’s circumstances and conditions. Individualized monitoring of project users and their families. To decrease absences from school until normalized attendance is achieved.

Making the family aware of their responsibility in their children’s regular class attendance (informing and awakening).

To promote the closeness and cooperation of families and educational institutions.

Conversations with parents and children. Coordinating with social services, schools and other experts in contact with the families. Individualized monitoring through IEP (Individualized Educational Project).

Monitoring school attendance and retention of the curriculum in the course of education. Coordinating with educational institutions. Activities of group instruction in the case of expulsion from school. Activities strengthening the creation of a positive image of the school, activities motivating class attendance. Wake-up service in the area where the users live. Additional programs in the transition from elementary school to high school. Informative meetings concerning the importance and obligation of education and mechanisms of support and surveillance. Analyzing, together with the family, the problems that cause absences from class and encouraging the family to offer their own solutions. Creating a space for individual and group conversations inside and outside school. Wake-up service for children during holidays and at the beginning of the school year. Additional programs during the transition from elementary school to high school. The family’s participation in school activities (final manifestations, excursions, Christmas...) School for parents Informing and assisting, when necessary, at teacher-parent conferences. Strengthening means of communication between the school and the family. Providing adequate translation to families where there is a language barrier. 35

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To develop coordination mechanisms between schools and social services, together with families and social institutions.

To track the tripartite relation ‘child-family-school’.

To orient, inform and encourage the families to participate in the acquisition of educational habits (health education, education on values, extracurricular activities, etc).

To widen additional activities for children with difficulties, to perceive faults in the comprehension of the curriculum and to offer adequate assistance to users who need it.

Monthly meetings with all schools for the mutual setting of goals which will be worked on with families and children. Monthly meetings with social services. Monthly meetings with administrative and other bodies connected with project users. Encouraging all experts to participate in the local council dedicated to the subject of absences from school. Maintaining contact with local police in the interest of receiving information about cases of absences or risky situations. Mediating participants. Creating an individualized educational plan and a plan for family action. Additional programs during the transition from elementary school to high school. Conversations with families. Family education. Informing families about different activities offered by the educational community. Informing non-Spanish speaking families about courses for adults available in Toledo. Home visits in the purpose of talking to the parents. Offering individualized extra classes to users who need it to retain certain competences in the curriculum. Individualized student support related to special educational needs. Instructions related to autonomy and daily organization, depending on each child’s needs. Loaning books, didactic material and games adapted to each pupil’s curriculum (pre-school and elementary education). Guided comprehensive reading. Children and parent participation in free activities.

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To point out the socio-educational resources and re- Pointing out socio-educational resources. sources related to free activities which encourage the prevention of risky social factors, negative habits and behaviours and which promote the socio-educational integration of children. Mediation of potential conflicts between children in Protocols or units at work in specific cases. school. Promoting dialogue as a way of solving conflicts in school, family and society. Creating spaces for group and individual dialogue inside and outside school. Campaigns for the prevention and decrease of absen- First open door days dedicated to education and youces from school, school failure and risk factors. th. Campaign for awakening the community to the importance of education.

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CHAPTER III

PROMOTION OF MULTICULTURALITY INTERCULTURALITY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP The Roma community in Europe is generally characterized by a lower standard of education, a higher rate of illiteracy and of leaving education, underrepresentation in the higher education system and lower rates of academic success in comparison to the rest of the population. Although the educational systems of the countries participating in the project differ, they also share certain common characteristics and principles. »»

The common characteristics which must be emphasized include the existence of three educational cycles: pre-school upbringing and education, elementary and secondary education; the legal obligation of education until the age of 16; varying degrees of vocational training and higher education.

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CHAPTER III

Promotion of multiculturality / interculturality, human rights and active citizenship

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Furthermore, these countries also share the following educational principles and policies: free public education, the availability of different levels of education and equal access to education for all their citizens. In addition to this, a positive and inclusive attitude towards ethnic minorities formally exists in both countries, which further stimulates the EU to materialize this attitude in different policies, plans and specific activities which pertain to the Roma population. However, the above principles do not apply equally to all citizens. Such is the case in practice with Roma citizens. Even though certain measures for stimulating the inclusion of Roma children in the educational system are being developed, these measures and policies are not appropriately applied in practice. Components of segregation persist, and the Roma population has difficulty in accessing standardized educational institutions and it is partly denied its rights. The fact is that different kinds of segregation still exist, to a greater or lesser extent, in the educational system.

The existence of situations of segregation of ethnic minorities, especially considering the Roma, is manifested in various ways which range from manifested or obvious segregation (in certain countries, through the inclusion of Roma pupils into educational centres with special programmes) to covert segregation, manifested through the inappropriate use of educational measures aiming to soften unequal situations or pupils’ special needs, for example, by grouping Roma students into special classes.

These instances of segregation are sometimes closely connected to housing politics: when Roma pupils live in segregated communities, this kind of approach is usually reflected in the schools in that area, as well. Similarly, certain countries implement other types of measures in order to solve certain situations related to Roma pupils. For example, they are classified as ‘’homeschooled’’, which means that they do not have to come to school but only take their final exams. Roma children are also encouraged to enrol at vocational schools which, because of their short duration and lower educational standards which include very few alternatives, offer training which does not meet the labour market’s requirements. Segregation is not the only problem that influences the difficulties encountered by the Roma community in view of education. There is a set of other factors which families have to face. These factors also have a special influence on the inclusion of Roma children in the educational system and are grouped into the following three big categories: A - Socio-economic exclusion which influences the family: »»

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Poverty and squalor. Poverty represents one of the biggest obstacles for the participation and inclusion in the educational system. Even though this is a phenomenon which is complicated by itself, its economic dimension’s influence can prevent families from accessing educational institutions because they are not in a position to cover the costs of education as such: books, transportation and other educational costs. Unemployment or insufficient employment.

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Unsatisfactory employment, low salaries or a lack of continuity in employment can cause economic difficulties in financing educational needs. Inner and outer migrations. Migrations which are mostly caused by economic circumstances and employment cause a lack of continuity in contact between educational institutions, pupils and families. Lack of necessary documentation. The lack of documentation or a regulated status makes it harder to access educational institutions and enrol at them. Geographic position. The place of residence affects the possibility of attending educational institutions, whether because they do not exist in the immediate vicinity or because the only available institutions are either segregated or have lower educational standards. Certain isolated or marginalized environments (ghettos) and geographic locations have fewer resources at their disposition and therefore offer fewer opportunities for educational development.

B - Relations (attitudes) between the Roma community and the educational system: »» Mutual mistrust and prejudice between schools and the Roma community. »» Some members of the Roma community perceive school as an ‘’unknown environment’’ they are not familiar with. »» Many educational institutions do not maintain regular relations with Roma parents, which in turn affects the parents’ perception of school, as well as their lack of knowledge and information about the possibilities and advantages which their children can benefit from by achieving continuity within the educational system. »» A lack of knowledge and Roma parents’ expectations about the possibilities offered by education, for example through programmes of vocational education or the continuation of education after receiving elementary education. »» Lack of motivation for studying among Roma pupils. »» Lack of educational models within the Roma community. C - The faults of the educational system: »» The educational system’s lack of facilities for work with families in situations of poverty or squalor. »» The educational system’s lack of readiness to work

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from within a perspective of respect for difference (interculturality) which ethnic minorities bring into the system. Teachers’ insufficient knowledge and experience in intercultural education. The school as an institution is primarily meant for and focused on the model of the pupil who belongs to the majority population which is, in most cases, homogenous. Difference is often seen as a difficulty which must be removed instead of as an aspect which can enrich all the pupils as a whole. A lack of funds necessary for the development of programmes and activities offering quality support to minorities, especially to the Roma community. Segregation and discrimination against Roma pupils within the educational system.

The above and other factors cause: »» Difficulty in approaching pre-school upbringing and education. »» An elevated rate of truancy. »» A great number of repeaters. »» Low school / academic success. »» A lack of continuity in the process of formal education. »» Extremely limited advancement towards higher levels of education. The biggest problems related to abandoning education occur in high school, while access to higher cycles of education is extremely limited. »» Lower levels of professional competence, which results in difficulties in participation in the labour market and perpetuates the closed circle of poverty and marginalization.

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CULTURE, DIVERSITY AND PLURALISM FROM AN EDUCATIONAL POINT OF VIEW Rosa Marí Ytarte University of Castilla-La Mancha Faculty of Social Sciences

[...] accepting a stranger does not mean transforming them into one’s clone but, to the contrary, it means allowing their difference to have an effect on society, preserving the “otherness” in time.1 1 - Culture and Cultural Diversity Thinking about culture and cultural diversity from the point of view of education implies being aware that these notions bear no definite or final definition. The plural in culture obliges us to develop complex points of view and avoid theoretical reductionism that reduces human societies to its most visible, most exotic or most differential traits. Such trivialization that sees human groups through the prism of their alleged differences, oblivious of other characteristics, leads to the highlighting of the allegedly conflicting elements

Maffesoli, M. (2005): La part del diable. Compendi de subversió postmoderna.Vallbona, March Editor.

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of certain groups. It also leads to presenting social problems that are more related to inequality, injustice or poverty than with identity or culture, as cultural ones. In fact, culture, all culture, is itself plural and diverse and does not exist as an isolated or homogeneous “product”. The world and all its societies are culturally diverse. Therefore, cultural diversity can in no way be an educational objective or a social project but, instead, serves to show human reality for what it really is. In the same fashion, the culture of a society is by no means final; it depends on historical and sociological changes and on the exchange and interaction between groups and individuals. Human beings form groups, create cultures… All of them, through their singularity, represent the most complete expression of all that is common to all human beings, of what we share and what makes us similar, what defines us as cultural beings who have a need for belonging and identity. Copies, loans, agreements and conflicts all make up the experience of sociability and coexistence, and that is why diversity still remains as it transforms. Any identity or form of culture is multiple and dynamic, we are formed as social beings by being part of different groups, through experience and paths in life, all of which has more to do with what happens to us or the practices we develop than with who we are or where we come from. At the same time, however, such forms of belonging are fundamental and necessary for any individual or group to experience a stable identity that exists in time and defines them. Identity and culture are not unalterable or eternal codes but, to the contrary, forms of society and that is why they live off (ex)change. If the cultural is a concept that defines a process rather

than a final reality, then all societies are the result of their own transformations, all cultures are unique and at the same time contain and develop forms of universality. These are the two assumptions based on which we consider intercultural education: the idea that culture is comprised of the heritage received through the customs, language, knowledge, narratives that identify us, and at the same time is a demonstration of how we as social beings grow on everyday experience, in relation and through exchange with a globalized world. Summarizing the above, one can understand culture either as a process or heritage, as integration into a project common to all mankind, or as a demonstration of isolated identities that never meet; one can think about culture from the point of view of its dynamism and complexity (mixture, exchange and heterogeneousness) or about culture as the foundation behind a group’s tradition and its duration in time. Perhaps the concept of the cultural today involves both, and maybe that is what makes finding the right words to define it difficult. If for us the idea of culture involves a specific way of understanding coexistence and a specific societal model, then we see culture as the anthropologist Dolores Juliano2 does – a product of a mixture of legacies and customs formed among different historic experiences, all of which are insufficient, mutating, contradictory and therefore legitimate. With that premise in mind, culture appears as something that cannot be defined without the risk of oversimplifying it. The intercultural perspective in education therefore means applying a model of work that refuses to offer educational contents that reduce the other to a single form of belonging or identity, take their main

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characteristics or needs for granted, or that talk about but not with the other. Quite to the contrary, the intercultural approach means accepting that culture includes the means with which persons communicate or interrelate and that the process, in addition to encounters, means entering into conflict or being faced with uncertainty.

and point to the fact that many social groups in our societies are discriminated against due to their physical characteristics, cultural background or the identity they express. Such a repeated cultural stereotype will eventually lead to sets of prejudice whose only purpose is to explain those groups that we had defined as “different”.

2- Differences and equality. Principles of a plural citizenship

Cultural pluralism would not so much consist of preserving the alleged “good” cultures intact or changing the alleged “bad” cultures, but of giving all cultures opportunities to take part in the representation and construction of the world, which also means giving them a chance to develop their own cultural specificity. Cultural pluralism means recognizing (with pertaining legal guarantees) cultural diversity and its place in society. As the UNESCO established in 20013 , Article 2: […] cultural pluralism gives policy expression of the reality of cultural diversity. Indisociable from a democratic framework, cultural pluralism is conducive to cultural exchange and to the flourishing of creative capacities that sustain public life.

Cultural identity has never been (nor should be) an obstacle to affiliation or participation in a society. According to the intercultural approach, cultural forms do not pose a threat to social cohesion or to the social framework of coexistence. There is no doubt that reproachable practices and customs exist within all societies; however, the fact that most conflicts seemingly related to culture actually have a social or political background makes culture the best excuse for refusing pluralism and even a way of justifying social exclusion and inequality. Therefore, one of the challenges placed before us by the idea of cultural diversity is to think about cultures in today’s world from a perspective that includes the dynamics of globalization, the impact of which is not only economic but is also reflected in reconstructing and reorganizing (often in a conflicting manner) identities and cultural forms everywhere. Pluralism is a social project of citizenry giving rise to a common framework that will be able to create the space for coexistence and joint cultural development. From the educational viewpoint of interculturality, it is important that “others” be given the space for representation, to insist on the unsustainability of cultural stereotypes accepted by the majority

Cultural pluralism as defined by the UNESCO Declaration is possible as a social project only if cultural diversity is understood as a common good and is at the same time considered compatible with the common rules of coexistence, if we see ourselves and others as citizens and if in parallel to that we are able to go beyond our own referential cultural framework. From the intercultural perspective this involves the joint articulation of three levels of social integration: »»

Promoting educational practice that displays and recognizes diversity, renouncing all forms of noncritical acculturation. At the same time, however,

Juliano, D. (1993): Educación intercultural. Escuela y minorías étnicas. Madrid, Eudema. (Intercultural education. The School and Ethnic Minorities.)

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3 4

cultural recognition in education means that no one is left outside of global networks, relevant knowledge and societal participation for cultural reasons. Globalization multiplies opportunities for participation in culture and society, opens new paths for communication and exchange and introduces new ways of approaching information and knowledge. In his book Utopia and Disenchantment, Claudio Magris4 says that physical and symbolic borders are necessary for the construction of one’s own identity and life in a cultural coherence. At the same time, however, he warns that the most important role of borders (individually or collectively) is for these to be crossed, traversed, that what is important about a border is that it allows one to go to the other side. The task of the intercultural is to monitor individuals as they cross those frontiers, approach what is seen as different and threatening, and move across different cultural registries. Finally, the intercultural approach to pluralism is a commitment to the equality of opportunities based on the principles of citizenship and democracy. It might be said that it is an educational effort to avoid being forced to choose between two types of subjugation on a daily basis: negating one’s own identity in order to be accepted by a societal majority or remaining on the narrow margins of the community one identifies with. Simultaneously, it means rejecting the pressure of the cultural group one is affiliated to and rejecting whatever is imposed by the majority that makes up a society and it includes the right to options in individuals’ private lives and an obligation to enter into minimal agreements in public life. In other words, it involves an assimilation of citizenship and civilization

values, minimum (though not slight) adherence to common rules and principles. 3- Educational and Societal Processes for the Development of Interculturality »»

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Pluralism therefore calls for the recognition of the other, participation in the society and common values from a global perspective. It calls for what Nobert Bilbeny5 calls intercultural ethics, ethics based on the three minimum rules of coexistence: The rule of autonomy: refers to the development of individual thinking and reflection, one’s capacity to be able to learn and choose critically. In other words, being prepared to argue one’s values and choices. The rule of reciprocity: involving others in our actions and decisions, i.e. recognizing them as our equals and thus being aware of one’s own prejudice and doubts about such recognition. The rule of reflection: consists of trying to think in line with ourselves, which in turn means being capable of explicitly estimating one’s culture and identity models and that means readiness for dialogue with the other who is recognized the same place and the same value.

Due to all of the above, the intercultural education model attempts to overcome the limitations of asimilationism and develop an integrative approach from a critical stance that should include both recognition of diversity and adherence to democratic and civil principles. Intercultural education consists of an educational model aimed at all groups and individuals and it reconsiders the equality principle and democratic values from the point of view of a world based on complexity while

UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Adopted by the 31st session of the UNESCO General Conference, Paris, 2 November 2001 Magris, C. (2001): Utopía y desencanto. Barcelona. Anagrama. (Utopia and Disenchantment).

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promoting the expression of individual and collective differences. As shown in the table below, that model is characterized by the following: In 1994, the European Union defined intercultural education as: [...] a set of educational practices designed to promote mutual respect and understanding among all students, regardless of their cultural, linguistic, ethnic or religious background. Commission of the European Communities, 1994. From this perspective, interculturality as a theoretical reflection encompasses all socio-educational domains. Based on that premise, it is impossible from the point of view of educational practices to ignore or silence conflicts that arise due to identity dynamics, or hide the social mechanisms of power that develop around them. Rather, we believe that it is necessary to develop social and educational practices aimed at revising one’s own discourse, at analysing the narratives used to describe cultural diversity and work towards a comprehensive inclusion of individuals in a society, instead of merely adapting them. Therefore, interculturality in education is not just an account of other cultures but an educational and social process that helps groups and individuals to manage in the midst of societies’ complexities with a critical point of view and to take part in such complexities, thereby developing the skills to interact and negotiate, while being faced with conflict and disagreement. The purpose of educational interculturality is to demonstrate the multiple, the diverse, not as an exception but as a

SOCIAL MODEL

PRINCIPLES

EDUCATION MODEL

normal occurrence in the life of a society. Interculture is thus not a pedagogy of difference – it is a pedagogy of plurality. Instead of contrasting the community with universality, intercultural pedagogy integrates the complex and fragmentary aspects of identity. Instead of excluding, assimilating or understanding the identity of the “other”, it creates the space where subjects can adopt the heterogeneous contents of today’s society. Intercultural education is thus awarded the task of “mediating” between such social spaces, between the city, areas of action and participation, and the individual, regardless of their cultural identity. If the otherness is to endure and be capable of coexistence, without being radical or aggressive, entombed in the narrowness of its own identity, there is a need for collective action towards pluralism and compromise with common rules. That at the same time implies developing an ethics of hospitality that would be capable of accepting diversity in the world and “making space” for it.

THE INTERCULTURAL MODEL IN EDUCATION Human rights Plurality and recognizing diversity Citizenship and democratic participation Fight against social exclusion Equality affirmation Combining the variables of gender, culture and social class as forms of inclusion Reinforcement of citizenship Education and equal opportunities as the driver of social change Developing plurality in education Intercultural mediation Acquiring cultural competencies Developing critical thinking skills Anti-racist education

5 Bilbeny, N. (2004): Ética intercultural. La razón práctica frente a los retos de la diversidad cultural. Barcelona, Ariel. (Intercultural Ethics. Practice and Cultural Diversity Challenges). Bárcena, F.; Mèlich, J-C. (2000): La educación como acontecimiento ético. Natalidad, narración y hospitalidad. Barcelona, Paidós. (Education as an Ethical Event: Birth Rates, Narration and Hospitality)

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I N T E R C U LT U R A L COMMUNICATION Ljubica Bakić-Tomić, University North, Croatia ljbakictomic@gmail.com

I alone cannot change the world, perhaps not even the people I know, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. Mother Theresa INTRODUCTION In the northernmost part of the Republic of Croatia, significant numbers of the Roma national minority live condensed in several Roma settlements. Roma children attend school together with other children of Croatian nationality. The academic year 2012/2013 saw the launching of the Equal Opportunities for All – Better Integration of Roma Children in the Croatian Education System project, financed by the University of Zagreb (with Ljubica Bakić-Tomić as chief researcher). The aim of this project was to improve the existing and set up new teaching activities in undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programmes at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb, in order to establish the preconditions necessary for improved inclusion of Roma children in the Croatian education system, especially primary education. One of the project tasks was to look into intercultural communication and intercultural upbringing in northern Croatia (Roma national

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minority). As a result of this project a compendium of articles dedicated to the experience of Croatian teachers and their work with Roma national minority pupils was printed (Compendium, Equal Opportunities for All – Better Integration of Roma Children in the Croatian Education System, edited by Ljubica Bakić-Tomić, Kali Sara, Zagreb 2014). Although Europe has had excellent experience and achieved great accomplishments in implementing educational activities with the Roma, we wanted the voices and experience of Croatian teachers to be heard as well. For one, due to the fact that Roma communities in Croatia differ from the European ones and because of the specific influence a local culture has on a Roma minority, which has intertwined with it and with which it lives in synergy, creating new social values, relationships, and even obstacles and problems that call for joint action. Europe is home to numerous peoples with diverse cultures. It aims to preserve cultural heritage, cherish cultural tradition but at the same time lacks frontiers, making it easy for its peoples to move around, meet with each other and communicate, thereby exchanging their cultural values. Culture is transferred by communication and communication, in turn, is supposed to be the medium for exchange and mutual understanding. Since there is no unified stance among researchers over the use and interpretation of terms related to cultural diversity and cultural meeting points, we will be presenting a brief insight into the work of a Croatian author (Dragojević 1999) who analysed the concept of cultural diversity in Europe and came to the conclusion that in involves three different processes: multiculturalism, interculturalism and pluriculturalism.

Multiculturalism denotes an obligation of cultural and educational authorities to define policies, measures and actions that enable the development of different cultures on the same or neighbouring territory as other cultures in a given country. It is a static concept. Interculturalism means a dynamic, equal and creative exchange and interaction among cultures that are aware of their diversity and common values, by means of active dialogue among cultures sharing the same space. Pluriculturalism sees every culture as a dynamic whole marked by pluralism (diversity of points of view, values, behavioural patterns), within a general framework of strict adherence to democratic principles, rules and procedures. WHAT IS INTERCULTURALISM IN A MULTICULTURAL EUROPE? Interculturalism at work means living with others, not next to them! Discovering others means discovering relationships, instead of obstacles. Such relationships can bring to life differences and similarities. All people are just people. But, not all people are alike – every person is different from the other. There is an obvious difference between “We” and “The rest of them”. Can “We” exist without borders? Where are the borders of an individual’s or a nation’s cultural identity? According to Jack Hawley, the author of the best-seller Dharmic Management:“He whose heart is filled with compassion, whose words are immersed in truth and whose body is dedicated to helping others shall never fall under bad influence but shall forever remain on the right path.” Typical forms of communication having a bad impact on

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intercultural relations among people are the either-or type of communication (exclusivity, seeing things as black or white) and the due to type of communication (searching for cause and effect). Their positive counterpart is the despite form of communication (searching for what is similar, positive, connecting, universal). Klopf & McCroskey (2007) give some recommendations on how to mitigate intercultural misunderstandings in communication: »» »» »» »»

Flexible approach to communication, put relationship before content Recognise and respect ethnocentric diversities Avoid ambiguous or paradoxical messages in intercultural communication Use creativity and intuition in communication, relying more on non-verbal than verbal communication.

Samovar and Porter (2007) give some guidelines on quality intercultural communication that aims to create a good atmosphere and mutual respect and understanding: »» »» »» »» »» »»

Do not rush to judge Assume the other side means well Avoid direct metacommunication questions, such as: And why is that? How come? What for? Use feedback, by asking or giving examples and clarifications Stereotypes and prejudice can be avoided by observing the counterpart as an individual, instead of seeing them as members of cultural groups Look for similarities, not differences

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Look for the positive, not for the negative.

Intercultural upbringing means learning to live in peace and coexistence, learning to develop, learning to live democracy and human rights. RESULTS OF A SURVEY carried out in northern Croatia in the academic year 2012/2013 According to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, members of national minorities are granted the right to attend school in the minority language and script, a right that has yet to be granted to all minorities, including the Roma. Education level of adult Roma, how they get by and use general knowledge in everyday life is a survey conducted as part of Tina Domjanić’s graduation thesis, with prof. dr. sc. Ljubica Bakić-Tomić as mentor and Goran Lapat as co-mentor. It was carried out in the Social Welfare Centre in Čakovec on 50 Roma respondents aged mostly between 26-30 (24%) and 3135 (28%). The purpose of this research was to look into the current level of education of adult Roma in northern Croatia. Fifty-six percent of the respondents stated they were literate and had learned to read and write at school, while 28% said they were half-literate, having learned from their siblings and children (they learn from children who attend school). As many as 32% of adult Roma state that they are learning to read and write, add and subtract, about IT and foreign languages from their children. According to the results of this survey, 84% of their children go to school. When asked about the matters they have to deal

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with on a daily basis, 74% said they know how to write their children’s full name; 56% use bank cards, which someone else taught them how to do (a bank employee and a friend from the village); when looking at a picture with two boxes of bottles, 70% were able to decipher that there were 48 bottles in both boxes after having counted the bottles in the first one (they can add and multiply), while another 14% calculated the correct amount by counting the boxes one by one (cannot multiply); 50% could read the temperature on a thermometer, while 42% thought the thermometer was showing 37 degrees (threshold value for high temperature, marked red) and 8% did not know how to use a thermometer at all. As for taking medications, 74% of the respondents knew that a prescribed drug should be taken twice a day, morning and night, while 26% said they would take it when needed (did not know the meaning of “2x” written on a box of medications). Furthermore, 50% of the respondents who were given a bag of instant soup would cook it for 8 min (as instructed on the packaging), while the rest of them did not know how to read the time for preparation. Further schooling is a great obstacle in the Roma’s lives, which is why 66% of them stated they were not interested due to lack of time and only 32% were interested in higher levels of education in order to learn more and be able to quickly find a job. Another research was conducted as part of the above project during the academic year 2012/2013 – Communication of Roma children in school (Petra Ivanušić’s graduation thesis, mentored by prof. dr. sc. Ljubica Bakić-Tomić and Goran Lapat as co-mentor). This study was conducted in the Orehovica Primary School in Međimurje, Croatia, and involved 50 primary

school pupils of which 36 Roma and 14 Croats and their trainers, teachers and Roma assistants who help Roma children manage at school, understand Croatian and do homework. One of the measures envisaged in the National Roma Programme is the organization ofextended stay for Roma children who lack adequate conditions in their own homes (National Roma Programme 2003). Due to the fact that Roma children have been taught by their parents to always provide affirmative answers, it was difficult to learn from the very children about the problems they encountered at school because they mostly responded by saying they had none, despite their teachers and assistants claiming the contrary. The objective of this interview was to find out about the relationship between Roma and Croatian children in school, the problems Roma children faced and the contacts Roma parents had with the school. Enrolment in primary school means that a child has reached a certain level of psycho-sociological and linguistic development. In northern Croatia both Roma and Croatian children have a poor command of standard Croatian, be it oral and written: the Roma due to the Romani language and the Croats due to the Kaikavian dialect. Roma children are taught Romani from birth onwards and start learning Croatian only in preschool programmes, at the age of 5 or 6. Roma children use the standard variety that they learn at the kindergarten or school and do not understand the local dialect spoken by Croatian children outside of the school. Below are the statements of some Roma assistants: “Croatian pupils have contact and spend time with Roma

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pupils during and after school. If they isolate themselves, it is mostly due to the Roma’s lack of hygiene and the fact that they come to school dirty and have lice. In such cases, parents do not want their children to spend time with the Roma or to sit next to them. Many children want to and do help them at school. There are also some children who do not accept the Roma, but that is becoming less and less common.” “In addition to the socio-economic status, an important obstacle to the participation and integration of Roma pupils in the school is their poor command or complete lack of Croatian language skills. The most prominent of all problems in Roma integration is that of identity – how and up to what degree should the Romani way of life change, in a way that does not put their identity at stake.” “Cooperation or, rather, personal contacts of Roma parents with the school are rather specific. We are rarely in touch and that type of cooperation is mostly one-way. They do not recognise the school as a way out of the vicious circle but either as a social welfare place, where they will be given free meals, or as a burden. Overall and compared with previous years, things are getting better. Progress is visible and some parents have started coming to school to talk to the teachers.” Statements of preschool teachers: “Children of the Roma national minority are disadvantaged from the very onset because their environment is the biggest obstacle standing between them and progress. Most often the parents have no education at all (some think education as such is unnecessary) and are unable to help their children learn Croatian.”

“Material conditions (in most Romani families) are very poor; children come to preschool without ever having held a pencil and with a desk as only wishful thinking.” Teachers’ statements: “The Roma are not shunned by other pupils. If temporary breaks in communication do occur, they are due to bad hygiene and poor behaviour of individuals.” “The main problems start within the family. The pupils (most of them) have not developed the basic personal hygiene, cultural or working habits. Compared with other pupils, they lack some fundamental knowledge (how to hold a pen or a coloured pencil, use the toilet, walk up/ down the stairs, leaf through a book…). Another big problem is the language. Pupils do not understand the instructions and do not know what they should be doing. They often lack parental support and assistance at home. These problems could be overcome with adequate parent training.” The Compendium related to the implemented project also contains information on how some schools have gotten Roma parents interested in coming to school workshops where they could learn how to play with their children, how to encourage them to study, how to communicate with them and about the right way to bring them up. CONCLUSION Croatian is not Roma children’s mother tongue. If children do not know a sufficient number of words in Croatian, they will lack the proper foundation on which to learn to read and write. If they have no knowledge about the most common grammatical structures,

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they will not understand textbook language. Romani children will be faced with numerous difficulties and misunderstandings at school. When starting school, in addition to getting a new language and a new insight into the world, little Roma will also be confronted with a new culture. This means that they must simultaneously learn a language (orally and in writing), the subject matter of school lessons from all given subjects and how to behave in a new culture. All this would be too demanding for adult foreign language students who only have to learn about language and culture at the same time, and much more so for a six-year-old who has abruptly moved from a well-known yard into a large, unknown building.

image, includes learning about the challenges of a changing society (Bognar 2008). The teacher is a lighthouse, he must guide the children and show them the way. If its lights go out, many will run aground. By an unknown teacher

Here, the teachers have a great role to play â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they have to be motivated, ready to work in an extremely demanding environment and be dedicated to their job. But teachers are unprepared to work with Roma pupils, unaware of Romani culture and have no access to relevant information. Confirming this is the large number of students at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb, Ä&#x152;akovec and Petrinja who have shown interest in receiving 10-hour training during the 2012/2013 academic year, where Roma assistants told them about their schooling and the difficulties they encountered and the teachers told them about their positive experience in working with Roma students and parents. Around 150 students of the Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb attended this training. It is important that every child, being Croatian or Roma, feels accepted and loved. If Croatia wants to become a society focused on development, it must be a learning society dedicated to so-called core learning that, in addition to developing self-esteem and a positive self-

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CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN CASTILLA-LA MANCHA Ruth Barranco Barroso University of Castilla-La Mancha

In order to understand mediation and conflict resolution strategies in the context of educational institutions, we first need to understand their theoretical framework. Our educational system promotes efficient integration by means of creating inclusive environments, which means respecting, understanding and protecting diversity. Starting with the premise that diversity is innate to human beings and that it is a source of wealth and progress for all members of a society, the educational system, schools and teachers must above all encourage the participation and mutual understanding of all members of the academic community, while advocating not only the promotion of diversity but also its application as an educational resource. That way, schools at the same time become coexistence

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communities and learning centres. Conflict as such is neither good nor bad; it is innate to human beings and common in everyday life. Being humans, we are relational beings and in those relations differences can appear that, depending on how they are managed, can become detrimental or enriching. However, since conflict is mostly seen as something negative and potentially very detrimental, there is a strong tendency to stop it as soon as it occurs. In “all institutions conflict is inherent to their functioning and is part of their dynamics” (Frigerio, Tiramonti and Poggi, 1992). Educational institutions apply different models of coexistence management that lead to its more or less formal regulation (Torrego and Monedero, 2003). Traditionally, educational institutions sanctioned conflicts in an attempt to prevent so-called disruptive7 behaviour. The power lays in the hands of educators (teachers and education experts) who administered sanctions and determined who was the “victim” and who the “aggressor” in an attempt to contain the problem as quickly as possible, and consecuently punished the aggressor and protected the injured party. However, the sanctioning model left the conflict unresolved as the parties involved were not given any tools to prevent or intervene in similar situations; instead, all power was awarded to a third person who decided on the matter and imposed sanctions. As a result, there was no preventive effect and the punishment itself was insufficient to avoid new conflicts. Constant application of punishments only serves to encourage conflicts to take place at times and in contexts when they are less likely to be seen by the institution, so as to avoid sanctions. Gradually, educational institutions have become aware

of the importance of conflict management in creating positive school environments. They have adopted models that encourage communication and joint search for solutions through dialogue. These are the so-called relational models where opportunities for conflict resolution no longer lie with a third party but are transferred to the relationship (direct communication of parties involved). With this model, the parties involved – either of their own initiative or upon encouragement by a third party – look for solutions by consensus. Such a stance creates the space for meetings and dialogue and offers and establishes an educational style that can serve as a model for others to look up to (thereby encouraging prevention). However, the feasibility of this model in an institutional context is modest since educational institutions lack the conditions for dialogue. If an educational institution wants and truly advocates conflict resolution, it must facilitate and promote direct communication between the parties involved and help them engage in a dialogue that could provide for peaceful conflict resolution, by offering an organization, space and time that allow and encourage such practices. Educational institutions of our autonomous community try to go one step further in an attempt to go beyond the private and establishing common and consensual procedures that involve all educational organizations. With that in mind, the Agreement on Coexistence in educational institutions of Castilla-La Mancha was signed in 20068. Our autonomous community’s model of coexistence in schools relies on being proactive and anticipating potential conflicts. Its final objective is to promote good

Irritating or inappropriate student behaviour that, intentionally or not, had an impact on the teaching and learning process.

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

social relations among all members of the academia, which calls for: »» »» »»

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Encouraging a positive attitude towards conflict, since adequate conflict management by consensus and negotiations means mutual enrichment Promoting participation as an educational objective and appreciating communication as the fundamental element in improving participation Establishing clear rules of coexistence, which rules would be based on respect for all members of the academic community and formulated in a democratic way. If we start with joint creation of rules, we start with a premise of respect, dialogue and equality that doubtless encourages the creation of positive learning environments (key factor in protection against conflicts) Revising institutional curricula in order to foster inclusion and democracy with the aim of accomplishing academic success among all students, promoting socially valuable learning and introducing innovative paedagogical methods allowing greater attention to diversity Reaching consensus on coexistence, organization and functioning of educational institutions by reaching decisions on meetings, facilities and schedules that foster dialogue among different members of the academia Promoting a culture of peace where all members can grow in a positive environment full of trust and respect Promoting the encouragement and development of emotional intelligence of all members of the institution as an explicit objective of its curriculum. Teaching and learning to live with oneself and with others. Encouraging Tutorial Action as an activity of utmost importance in improving coexistence in an institution that focuses on improving students’ social skills and providing tailored care for all those involved in school violence Creating new organizational structures to improve coexistence and peaceful conflict resolution, such as school mediation teams where, with the assistance of a neutral third party, persons in conflict are given an opportunity to try and reach a consensus in a positive and voluntary manner, leading towards peaceful conflict resolution. Or peer assistance programs that encourage solidarity and prosocial behaviour among students and reveal the benefits of improved coexistence in an educational institution.

But in addition to that, education for education for coexistence calls for an inclusive approach, which includes activities in various areas having an effect on various interrelated levels: family and social context, school, class and individual (Marin et al., 2003). Improving coexistence requires a number of interrelated measures, from global to individual, whose scope goes beyond the educational institution and whose purpose is to integrate the local community. Such an ambitious objective extends beyond educational institutions and calls for a joint effort involving the academia, the local community and the society at large, thus encouraging the educational role of municipalities. It calls for the establishment of cooperation mechanisms and the integration of socio-educational activities into local plans. The administration can support and follow the initiatives of such educational institutions by promoting innovative ideas, supporting the training of the teaching staff and providing adequate human and other resources that would allow them to realize a truly integrated and inclusive approach to coexistence in that community’s educational institutions.

Signing the Agreement on Coexistence in educational institutions includes the drafting and adoption of Decree 3/2008, of 8th January 2008, on Educational Coexistence in Castilla-La Mancha, aimed at offering educational institutions the necessary tolos to encourage good coexistence relations among all members of the academic community.

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RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

EDUCATING THE ROMA MSc. Goran Lapat Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb

“Literacy is the best cure” and “Literacy – the key to health and wellbeing” are the two 21 st century mottos. According to the 2011 census, there are 16,975 Roma living in Croatia. Several studies involving this population have been conducted in the past 20 years. Among the most important ones are the 1982 research of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, published in a study called The Social Position of the Roma in SR Croatia; the 1998 research of the Institute of Social Sciences “Ivo Pilar”, published as The Social and Development Situation of the Roma in Croatia; and a 2002 research of the State Institute for Family, Maternity and Youth Protection, published as the Structure of Roma Families and Their Understanding of Parenthood. Of great value for contemporary research is the Atlas of Roma Settlements, which was published in 2013. Language is at the core of Roma’s identity and culture. The Romani language, however, is not just one – it consists of a number of mutually interrelated dialects with varying degrees of similarity and which are formed under the influence of the majority language that surrounds them. Some of those languages (dialects) are mutually unintelligible, as is the case with two

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subgroups of Romani dialects/languages spoken by the Roma in Croatia: romani chib and ljimba dă băjaš. Romani languages are not fully standardised and they do not have their own grammar or orthography books, which causes significant problems. Since their culture is mostly oral, Romani has no written tradition and no publications of importance, with the exception of a few magazines (Romano akharipe, Nevo drom in romani chib, as well as Graju alu căganjilor published in bajaš Romani). The right to receive education in minority tongue and script is granted to the Roma and other national minorities in the Republic of Croatia pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities and the Act on the Education in the Language and Script of National Minorities. The following are the principles applied in primary education: 1. Primary school is obligatory for all pupils in the Republic of Croatia 2. Primary and secondary education is based on equal opportunities for education for all pupils in line with their capabilities 3. Education and upbringing in an educational institution is based on a high quality of education… Today the members of the Romani national minority are not systematically included in a single schooling model that would be based on their own language. Instead of that, take part in the regular education system of the Republic of Croatia, organised in the Croatian language. Romani children must be equally involved in all educational institutions in order to be granted equal

opportunities for quality education, as far as they are able to and as all other children. However, due to their lacking command of the Croatian language, the fact that they come from socially and materially deprived surroundings and a number of other reasons, not all the Romani children who meet all the prescribed conditions (age, capability, etc.) take part in the education system. The Ministry of Science, Education and Sports does not know the exact number of Roma who should be involved in a particular level of the education system. It is estimated that around one third of all Romani children have never been included in any form of education. Having defined education as one of the most important factors in changing and improving the status of the Roma in the society, competent state authorities, local communities, Roma and other associations have recently been putting a lot of effort into getting as many Roma children as possible included and involved in preschool education and activities. However, due to the fact that the Roma have for years been neglected by the society and in many ways marginalised, this is only the beginning of a long-term process – one requiring the creation and application of measures that will provide Romani children equal conditions for participation in all educational institutions, as well as a high quality of education. The fundamental objective in educating and training Romani children in Croatia (in line with the National Roma Programme) is to guarantee equal opportunities, non-discrimination, desegregation, to reduce societal marginalization and encourage social integration of the Roma while respecting minority rights and the right to equality. Further objectives include nation-wide education and training, gradual inclusion of all Romani children of preschool age in preschool prep programmes, enrolment of all Romani children in

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

primary education and encouragement of secondary and tertiary education, as well as the enrolment of adult Roma in literacy and vocational programmes.

their knowledge to satisfy both sides. Below are some important facts that must be highlighted concerning the process:

Primary school is mandatory for all children who turn six by March 31st of the current year. The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and Croatian legal regulations grant all children between 7 and 15 years of age the right to primary and compulsory education.

TEACHER ATTITUDE – teachers who have Roma pupils in their class must be aware that they are facing a great challenge. However, the skills acquired throughout education and training and the will to help the pupils can guarantee positive learning outcomes. Flexibility and creativity in teaching are just a part of an “investment for the future”.

Since the biggest problem Roma children are faced with when enrolling in primary school is their poor command of the Croatian language, and Roma in the Republic of Croatia do not speak a unique Romani language that the teachers could learn, schools have introduced teacher associates-assistants who speak the same variant of Romani language as the children attending that particular school. The associates-assistants work with groups of Roma pupils attending the first to the fourth grade of primary school and help them to socialise and follow the regular teaching curriculum. As a rule, assistants live in the settlement or are well acquainted with the settlement their protégés come from, they must have earned a high school diploma and have a good command of Croatian and the local Roma language. Despite significant efforts put into including Roma children in regular education in recent years, there are still great problems. The Roma insist that their children should attend the same classes as other children, which other parents sometimes find difficult to accept, primarily due to Roma children’s poor prior knowledge (National Roma Programme, 2003). In order to meet the pupils’ needs and abide by the law, teachers feel caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to use their skills and competences to the best of

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE – any teacher who wants to establish close rapport with Roma pupils must first understand their culture. With no books and textbooks in Romani, the only way teachers can learn about the pupils’ culture is by talking to them. This can take place in the school or in the Roma settlement where their counterpart will be more relaxed and the surroundings will speak for themselves, on culture and tradition. “Language problems” are not always just a matter of language; they often involve perception issues or contexts in communication. The Roma’s attitude towards education is extremely important to understanding their culture. One can hardly expect that they will be able to understand the benefits of education when they too have only a low level of education. APPROACHING THE PUPILS – pupils who come from socially deprived backgrounds have difficulties socializing. The role of the teacher is therefore extremely important for they are the ones who make pupils feel safe and warm. Adequate expectations are just as important. In other words, teachers should not assign homework requiring parental assistance or will simplify the task down to a level the pupil will be able to

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understand. Roma students are very sensitive to failure. When faced with failure, they become aggressive and are unable to control their emotions. It is therefore important to praise and encourage them, even for small improvements, so that the pupils can associate effort with success (examples: Duško Kostić – master’s degree in primary education, Natalija Ignac – primary school teacher, Benjamin Ignac – student in the USA, Nura Islamovski – pharmacologist, Čazim Haliti – radiologist, Gerard Linder – kickboxing champion, 100 violins – Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra, etc.). WORK METHOD – language is an important factor standing between Roma pupils and scholarly success. In their mother tongue they use a much narrower vocabulary than is used in the language in which they are taught. Whenever possible, teachers should use specific, everyday life examples and explain how what is being taught matters on a daily basis. Working with teacher assistants has proven to be a good way of doing this. Extracurricular activities, where pupils, based on their own interest, choose an area and content they are going to learn about, can also serve as a complement to lessons. COOPERATING WITH THE PARENTS – the triangle of scholarly success is comprised of teachers, pupils and parents. In other words, success will be questionable should only one of these fail. Parents are aware of their children’s difficulties, which is why they find going to school awkward and embarrassing. Teachers must find new ways to work with the parents (workshops for parents, school plays, organizing activities to clean up the school front yard, sports games, celebration of the Roma Day, etc.).

Living and working together has taught us to: »» Clearly support education and progress »» Support individuals and groups in the minority community who actually do something »» Encourage the local administration to make the first move and “hold out their hand” »» The type of education we give them is not the only thing or the only form of education that the Roma need »» Functionality of education »» Today’s primary school does not meet their needs »» Primary school should offer programmes that will address the pupils’ needs »» The Roma do not have common objectives (perception of “living good”) »» Roma communities are not homogeneous – they have different reactions to the same approach and different forms of cooperation »» Support individual efforts (in both communities) »» Put an end to the use of social welfare, child benefit and maternity benefit as sources of income »» The source of income for sustaining one’s family should be based on a culture of work and earning one’s living »» Move children from impossible or precarious living conditions into a safe and encouraging environment »» Be more active in helping families raise children »» Train teachers to work in specific conditions (working with the local Roma community) »» Locally address the needs of particular settlements »» Help students with behavioural problems, their families and the school so that they can grow up to be successful and satisfied young people. All of the above brings us to the conclusion that we have done a lot, but not enough!

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIĂ&#x201C;N OF ROMA STUDENTS

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION OF EXPERIENCES AND GOOD PRACTICES The text goes on to present a series of experiences and examples of good practices conceived within the project during the phase of implementing intercultural mediation programs in Sisak, Kutina, Darda and Slavonski Brod. Those programs are the result of work in territorial and interdisciplinary groups created within the project in the aim of implementing intervention programs in the areas mentioned above. They were elaborated on the basis of professional and life knowledge and experience of each of the participants and on the basis of content which was processed during the phases of training and introduction of examples of good practices within the project. The results should be used as models for other experts in Croatia, providing them with resources and ideas for work on the improvement of the situation and of Roma studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; school success. The experiences presented in this manual were placed within a specific temporal and spatial context based on awareness of the circumstances and problematic situation of the Roma communities in the above-mentioned towns. Therefore, they can be used as a guidebook for new propositions, under the condition that they are adapted to actual contexts and

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CHAPTER IV

Presentation of experiences and good practices

specific demands and needs of each city. Using this acquired expert knowledge, we can cooperate with other experts in planning and devising different measures focused on bringing the Roma population closer to educational institutions and improving all Roma boys’ and girls’ school success. We thereby attempt to draw the central line of work in a social and educational context, paying special attention to the needs of ‘boys and girls’ that are most at risk.

of social workers, teachers, educators, students, experts, Roma activist and members of associations which work towards achieving Roma rights speaks to the fact that there already exists a consensus on these propositions. This increases the chances of their application. The consensus is the basis of success in the realization of integral programs of intercultural intervention and mediation.

It must be emphasized that this project was envisioned through the prism of visions which add onto one another and thereby make the subject matter more real, since the visions of all included stakeholders present a much more realistic image of the situation. The participation

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PROJECT FOR THE INTEGRATION OF ROMA CHILDREN INTO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THE AREA OF THE CITY OF SISAK Bojan Iličić, Danijel Bogdan, Jagoda Šukovez, Marija Pokos, Omer Ćorić.

Legal framework and context analysis 3.561 Roma live in the county of Sisak-Moslavina, making it one of four counties with the biggest number of Roma inhabitants. The Action Plan for the Inclusion of Roma in the County of Sisak-Moslavina was adopted on the level of the county. It was coordinated with the National Strategy for the Inclusion of Roma for the Period of 20132020, which is a strategic document important for the advancement of the Roma community in the Republic

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of Croatia. Its drawback, though, is the non-existence of a body in charge of controlling the implementation of the Action Plan. The city of Sisak lies on the confluence of the river Odra into Kupa, and Kupa into Sava, and is the biggest river port in Croatia. Sisak is the capital of the county of Sisak-Moslavina. It is comprised of 35 settlements. According to the 2011 census, 61 497 inhabitants live in the wider city area. Owing to data made available by the Civil Rights Project Sisak from 2013, 2 165 Roma live in Sisak. They live in two settlements – Capraške poljane and Palanjek. Capraške poljane is the biggest Roma settlement in the county of Sisak-Moslavina. Roma in Capraške poljane live in illegally built houses in poor condition. The settlement is supplied with water and electricity. Palanjek is much smaller than Capraške poljane and life conditions in this settlement are much better. Two councils are active in the county of Sisak-Moslavina: the County Council of the Roma National Minority and the Council of the Roma National Minority of the City of Sisak, whose role is not clearly defined. Several associations are active in Sisak on the civil society level: the Association for the Development and Better Life for Roma, the Roma Cultural and Artistic Society Black Pearls Sisak, the Roma Cultural Centre, the Roma Association of the County of Sisak-Moslavina and the City of Sisak Nevo Drom and the Roma Association Palanjek. The associations aim to encourage the education of members of the Roma national minority, their employment, child rights protection and the preservation of traditional culture. There is no local plan in the area of Sisak which would

focus on the improvement of the conditions of education and life standard of members of the Roma national minority. This decreases the possibility of developing projects whose organizers are often units of local selfgovernment, and which would enable more specific action on the improvement of Roma education in the city of Sisak. According to data made available by the Ministry of Social Politics and Youth and the Sisak Centre for Social Care, a large number of Roma families receive welfare. They also annually request one-off financial aid. Around 150 members of the Roma national minority live in the Palanjek settlement in 38 households. Most households have five to six members. A smaller number of houses in the settlement were built illegally so the settlement has a smaller number of unsolved property claims. Like Capraške poljane, Palanjek also has electricity and a water system, but it lacks a sewer system. 36 Roma pupils are currently attending elementary school. 16 of these pupils attend Hrastenica Local School (1st – 4th grade) while 20 pupils attend Galdovo Elementary School (5th – 8th grade). Only one student is currently attending vocational high school. The Roma children’s overall success varies between sufficient (D) and good (C), while their behaviour is model. The traffic connection between the school and the settlement is satisfactory. The problem is that Roma children in the city of Sisak do not attend pre-school. Results of a survey conducted in the Palanjek settlement among parents and pupils show that the parents’ level of education mostly stops at the 8th grade of elementary school. Not many children enrol at high school, and those who do are mostly boys. Students often drop out after one year of education. There is also a high rate of

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unemployment in the settlement, which affects the Roma children’s education. Parents believe that the following things are necessary for their children to receive a better education: free books, clothes and shoes, plumbing in their houses, as well as a room reserved only for the children, where they could study and fulfil their school obligations. Children write their homework on their own, and when they do not understand their tasks, they seek help from their older siblings or from their classmates. Parents also try to help their children as much as they can, given their level of education. Parents mostly maintain cooperation with school and teachers via phone calls and attend teacher-parent conferences if they can. They have said that the school makes an effort to keep them informed about their children’s absences and success. Most parents believe they should become more involved in their children’s education. Parents agree that finishing high school would represent a step forward for their children. They would like to have a place where the children could study and gather and a playground so the children could have a safe environment to play in. Parents believe that if they and younger generations found employment, the situation in the settlement would change. But the problem is that parents often cannot get information. They are often given promises which are not fulfilled and they do not get return information about this. They believe that it would be good to have someone with easier access to information who would point them in the right direction. It is considered important to connect them with schools, centres for social care, city management and other relevant institutions in the aim of improving the exchange of information and creating

healthy, mature communication between them, which would influence the improvement of their position in the wider society. GOALS The common goal of the project is the implementation of national minority students educational accomplishments during elementary and high school education with the purpose of improving the overall position of Roma in the area of Sisak. This aim, i.e. investment in the education of the Roma national minority as investment in social capital, might help avoid the situation where the lack of education spreads from generation to generation. It might also break the cycle which the Roma population is in, and which shows that their lack of education leads to unemployment and thereby to poverty. The common goal might be achieved through the following specific goals: 1. Roma national minority children’s inclusion in pre-school programs and pre-school upbringing programs at the earliest age possible as the first step towards integration 2. The improvement of Roma national minority pupils’ school success in elementary school and the decrease in the number of Roma students’ absences in the course of their education. 3. Increase in the number of Roma pupils who finish elementary school, and the increase in the number of Roma students participating in secondary and tertiary education. Activities 1. Work with parents in the aim of informing them about their rights and the obligations which arise from institutes for parental care through education

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about responsible parenting. Motivating parents to take a more active part in their children’s education by encouraging them to attend informative teacherparent conferences and to participate in school activities such as manifestations, etc. Holding different classes and workshops dedicated to topics perceived as necessary and implementing actions of increasing literacy among Roma children’s parents. 2. Making parents of pre-school children aware of the benefits of pre-school upbringing in the aim of including a bigger number of children into kindergarten programs. Helping the parents see the kindergarten as an educational, social and cultivating institution in which there is a pleasant, familial atmosphere, and which will help achieve better socialization of the children, retention of the Croatian language and hygienic, working and other habits, as well as the decrease of linguistic and social barriers which Roma children encounter in elementary school and further education. 3. The introduction of Roma helpers in the first and second grade of elementary school in the aim of improving teacher-pupil communication in the process of learning the Croatian language. The Roma helper may work individually with each Roma pupil and help them in the course of their acquisition of new knowledge and skills. 4. Extended stay in school which will be organized for pupils in grades one through four. This will provide them with teacher support and an organized way to learn new subject matters more easily. It will help them with comprehension during homework writing and offer them intensive studies of Croatian as a foreign language. Pupils in grades five through eight should be assisted with studying and comprehending while they write their homework

and they should be helped in realizing their full potential. Teaching parents and pupils about their rights by means of different workshops, working on developing pupils’ self-confidence and selfrespect and teaching them to solve conflicts in a non-violent way. Using the workshops to raise awareness about the importance of education and work on decreasing absences from school. Organizing in-school classes about the specificities of the Roma national minority and working on improving communication and creating trust between teachers and parents in the aim of establishing a confidential relationship and mature communication between the school and the Roma population. Continued cooperation between the Roma community, local government, the school, centres for social care, health institutions, civil society organizations and all other relevant factors in the interest of improving the Roma community’s position in society. In view of that, appealing to encouragements the consciousness of the importance of spotting the Roma national minority’s problems, especially in the field of education, as well as the importance of solving those problems by organizing different workshops, public discussions and meetings between all the important society structures which deal with questions pertaining to the Roma population. Helping and encouraging Roma pupils to enrol at high school and finish it, offering continued support during their education, working on getting more girls to enrol at high school with regard to data which shows that mostly boys enrol at high school. By completing their high school education,

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

the student becomes an adult who can compete on the labour market and be economically creative, which turns them into a participating member of the society. Experts/mediators’ functions and tasks The mediator’s role includes first-hand work with Roma families and the Roma community and the creation and maintenance of a network of cooperation between the Roma community and the school, the centre for social care and local self-government in the aim of improving Roma children’s education. The mediator’s task is to establish and maintain communication between all parties, to keep all the participants of the process informed in the aim of overcoming difficulties and obstacles that all the involved parties often face. The mediator’s task is also to work individually with parents and pupils belonging to the Roma national minority on decreasing absences from school and improving school success in the aim of achieving that the biggest possible numbers of Roma pupils enrol at high school and finish it. Conclusion It is extremely important for Roma children in the city of Sisak to be included in educational processes from the earliest age. It is also necessary to develop different activities in the aim of decreasing absences from school in the course of education and with the purpose of preventing early abandoning of educational processes. This might be achieved by introducing the role of the mediator. The mediator’s task is to establish and maintain mature communication and cooperation between the Roma community, the school, the centre for social care, local authorities and other stakeholders and institutions, which would encourage an inclusive environment for the Roma community and influence not only the decrease in the number of absences and abandoning school, but also the successful transition from elementary school to high school. The mediator’s active work contributes to the creation of positive attitudes in parents and children belonging to the Roma national minority towards upbringing and education, which would increase Roma children’s interest and motivation for education and the continuation of their education. The coordination of all relevant factors’ work influences the improvement of education and the increase in life quality for members of the Roma national minority.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

TRAINING FOR MEDIATORS WITH THE AIM OF INTEGRATING ROMANI CHILDREN IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM” PROJECT, KUTINA Rosana Stanko, Snježana Coha, Katarina Duhović, Alen Beganović, Tea Kupec, Martina Kesak.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND CONTEXT ANALYSIS The Roma are one of 22 national minorities in the Republic of Croatia. According to the 2011 census, 16.975 persons declared themselves as members of the Roma national minority, though the number is much bigger in reality. According to some evaluations, there are 30 to 40 thousand Roma in Croatia and most of them live in the counties of Međimurje, Osijek-Baranja, SisakMoslavina and the city of Zagreb. The National Strategy for the Inclusion of Roma for

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the Period 2013-2020 is among the more significant strategic documents important for the advancement of the Roma national minority members’ position in the Republic of Croatia. The Action Plan for the Inclusion of Roma for the Period 2013-2015 was adopted with the aim of defining and implementing the National Strategy on the level of the county of Sisak-Moslavina. The plan deals foremost with questions of problems that members of the Roma national minority encounter in everyday life. It was adjusted to the National Strategy for the Inclusion of Roma for the Period 2013-2020, which involves different areas of life and action, such as: education, social care, health insurance, employment, etc. On the level of the town of Kutina, this year marked the beginning of preparations for the creation of a local Action Plan. The town of Kutina is located in the county of SisakMoslavina, on the southern slope of the mountain Moslavačka gora and the very edge of the nature park Lonjsko polje. It is comprised of 23 settlements. According to the 2011 census, 22 760 inhabitants live in the wider town area. Roma in Kutina live in a settlement on the very outskirts of town, in immediate proximity to the waste disposal depot. During the census, 340 people declared themselves as members of the Roma national minority, while 417 declared Roma as their mother tongue. The estimated real number of Roma in Kutina is close to 800. Although living conditions in their community are mostly satisfactory, their social and economical position can be classified as poor, bearing in mind that most families use permanent and occasional forms of financial aid from the Centre for Social Care and often from units of local self-government, while some families live in extremely poor housing and material conditions.

13 registered associations are active in the area of the county of Sisak-Moslavina, two of which are based in the town of Kutina – the Bajaš Roma Association and the Roma Association Kutina. Both associations aim to help members of the Roma national minority improve their position in the social community outside the Roma settlement and to increase life quality within the Roma community. According to data from the Centre for Social Care Kutina, 81 families with children aged 0-18 are welfare users. There are a total of 273 children in these families. 119 children are aged up to 7, 119 are aged 7 to 15 and 354 children are aged between 15 and 18. A mere 27 children, only two of which are girls, attend high school in school year 2013/2014. The largest number of children attends Vladimir Vidrić Elementary School (127), while the other three schools in the territory of the town are attended by a total of 36 pupils. According to data from Vladimir Vidrić Elementary School, Roma children’s success varies between sufficient (D) and good (C), while the nonRoma children’s general success varies between good (C) and excellent (A). The behaviour of Roma pupils is mostly characterized as model behaviour. Cooperation with pupils’ parents varies from good to bad, where good is prevalent, while only a couple of examples are described as ‘invitation only’. 29 Roma children attend a special program. Even though projects are occasionally implemented in the area of Kutina in the aim of improving integration, such as the program for integrating Roma children into regular kindergarten, we consider these efforts to be insufficient. A more comprehensive approach is necessary, as well as diverse projects for continuous work on the integration of children belonging to the

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

Roma national minority. The results of a survey conducted among pupils and their parents show a low rate of parent expectations concerning their children’s school success, which is one of the more important preconditions for the successful continuation of education after elementary school. A large number of parents have a low level of education, which prevents them from taking a more active part in the process of their children’s education. Pupils express a positive attitude towards school, but they indicate the difficulty of studying and the amount of homework as their principal difficulties. Mutual cooperation among different institutions (city government, schools, kindergartens, centres for social care, health institutions), each of whom deals with questions concerning the Roma national minority, is sporadic and inadequate, as well as each of those institutions’ cooperation with representatives of the Roma community, since there is currently no body which would coordinate and encourage better mutual communication and cooperation. PROJECT GOALS The project’s main goal is to ensure rights to education for children belonging to the Roma national minority through the improvement of educational results and the increase in the number of children included in the system of regular education, which would contribute to easier integration of those children into society and to the improvement of the overall position of Roma in the area of the town of Kutina. Specific goals which arise from the common goals include:

1. Raising the level of school success of Roma children in elementary school and decreasing the number of children who abandon their education before finishing elementary school. 2. Increasing the number of children, especially girls, belonging to the Roma national minority, who successfully finish elementary school, enrol at high school and finish it, and then enrol at and finish high and higher education. 3. Widening the scope of children belonging to the Roma national minority in pre-school programs and increasing the number of children aged 3 to 5 in pre-school upbringing programs. ACTIVITIES 1. First-hand work in the community which includes »» Group work with parents through the organization of classes and workshops for parents in the aim of informing them about their rights and duties, and which would contribute to increasing parents’ motivation for more active inclusion in the process of their children’s education. Subjects of the classes and workshops include child rights, parental duties, the child’s right to education, phases in child development, child health protection, proper nutrition and civic education. special attention shall be paid to groups of parents with children of pre-school age, in the aim of including a larger number of children into kindergarten programs at least two years prior to their start at elementary school, which will achieve better socialization of the children, retention of foreknowledge and skills which will enable them to get along more easily in school and acquire a higher level of knowledge

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of the Croatian language. This will make it easier for them to understand the curriculum from the very beginning of their education. Individual work in the community – consultative work, psychosocial support, providing information for families and individuals. Individual work with families will be carried out in the community, usually in the family home, by a person (the mediator) who possesses expert knowledge and skills necessary for individual work in the community. Individual work in the community is limited to areas of everyday life which do not demand the inclusion of institutions and primarily acts in a preventive way, dealing with relations within the family, encouraging mutual communication among family members and the family’s communication with the school, other institutions and the wider local community. This activity also includes individual support in understanding different regulations which outline specific rights, mediation with different institutions if necessary (e.g. material help from centres for social care or local self-government units, enrolment at school and kindergarten, scholarships)

2. Extended stay in school which would take place every day after class for 1st and 2nd grade pupils, during which pupils will be aided in studying in the aim of facilitating their comprehension of material, writing homework and intensive learning of the Croatian language. Pupils in grades three through eight will be given individual help with studying and writing homework. Children will also be engaged

in activities focused on the acquisition of working habits, the development of self-confidence and self-respect, the development of communication skills, learning methods of non-violent conflict resolution. 3. Establishment and maintenance of continual cooperation between the minority community, local government, school, centres for social care, health and other institutions, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders in the community and enabling members of the Roma national minority easier access to services in the community. This goal includes regular coordination meetings of representatives of all the institutions and associations that are active in the town of Kutina and who work with children or education and Roma associations active in the community. 4. Organizing workshops in school in the aim of rendering school staff more sensitive to the specificities of the minority community and establishing a trusting relationship between the parents and the school. At least two workshops will be organized during the school year in order to improve communication between school staff and parents. 5. Advocating the introduction of new high school education programs in the area of the town of Kutina in the aim of providing high school education for professions which will motivate girls to continue their education in high school and at the same time enabling them to get an education in the town where they live, since it has been identified as unacceptable for parents to have their daughters travel outside their place of residence in order to receive an education. According to the girls’ interests, the desired occupations include

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

hairdressers, cooks, waiters, shop-keepers, cosmeticians. Even though each of the proposed activities can in itself contribute to positive changes where the realization of the afore-mentioned goals is concerned, we believe that we can expect more significant breakthroughs only if all the activities take place continuously and simultaneously. EXPERTS’ (MEDIATORS) MAIN TASK The mediator’s main task is first-hand work in the community through the connection of all the stakeholders involved, the creation and maintenance of a quality network of associates in the local community with simultaneous offers of direct support to families and individuals belonging to the minority group, overcoming difficulties and obstacles which they face in communication with the wider community and institutions active in the community, since local community experts use their own professional positions to approach individual difficulties that members of the Roma community face where education is concerned. Attention is paid to the educational aspect within school, while the Centre for Social Care emphasizes the fulfilment of the legal obligation of attending elementary school until the age of 15. In this specific case, the mediator would be the person who would represent the connection between everyone involved: the family, the school, the Centre (and other institutions, local and regional authorities). The mediator would also work directly with the family on making them aware of the importance of their children’s education, but also on higher expectations concerning success, which survey results defined as one of the problems. The mediator would work in the field – they would get to know the family, gain their trust, define their needs more precisely, and recognize the problems they face and their potential. This might achieve more quality results in their work, unlike previously, when each institution worked with the child and the family separately. The creation of a mutual connection would create a space of interaction and cooperation which are the key to success. The mediator’s role in school would be to bring the situation closer, render the school staff more sensitive to specific needs and the potential of each pupil and their family and generally introduce them to Roma culture as the basis of intercultural work in class activities. The mediator would also cooperate with the Centre for Social Care Kutina and in this way – through the exchange of data, providing information on the needs and difficulties that certain families face – contribute to

their more successful resolution. The mediator’s main task would be to inform, exchange data, render all involved parties more sensitive, continuous motivation, all in the interest of the child’s benefit, or more specifically, in the aim of securing their right to education, the application of equal criteria and expectations to every child in terms of school success, regardless of whether it’s a boy or a girl. CONCLUSION Certain efforts are being made in the town of Kutina and projects are already being implemented in the aim of achieving better integration, but there are not enough activities focused on preventing children belonging to the Roma national minority to abandon their education early on, with emphasis on the population of girls. The community needs to introduce mediators, whose role would include the creation and maintenance of regular communication between the family, the school, the Roma community and local self-government in the aim of providing the Roma community with continuous support; direct and first-hand work with children and families in the community, which would bring about a positive change in the parents’ attitude towards education and ensure their active participation in the process of their children’s education; motivating children to continue their education after elementary school. This would provide a long-term contribution to the elevation of the educational level, decrease social exclusion of Roma and thus enable an increase in their overall life quality.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

TRAINING FOR MEDIATORS WITH THE AIM OF INTEGRATING ROMANI CHILDREN IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM” PROJECT, SLAVONSKI BROD Irena Čugura Ćerić, Čedo Todorović, Milan Mitrović, Ana Benić, Sandra Sekulić, Maja Martić.

CONTEXT/ANALYSIS The district primary school “Hugo Badalić” in Slavonski Brod has 498 pupils enrolled, of which 218 are members of the Roma national minority (98 boys, 120 girls). Lessons in the district school in the Jelas settlement, Slavonski Brod, are organised into two shifts. Extended stay is offered before and after school to all first- and third-grade pupils. Due to insufficient funds, the same service is not provided to children enrolled in the second or fourth grade.

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Romani settlement Josip Rimac has around 1,500 inhabitants. There, the situation changes on a daily basis. The school has realised that many problems concerning school (non)attendance are related to the fact that many parents do not enrol their children on time. Thus, the first grade is attended by 8- or 9-year-olds or even older children. In addition to that, there is an obvious lack of socialization among children. One important impediment in terms of the curriculum is their complete ignorance of the Croatian language, lack of parental support, lack of information and lack of interest in education displayed by both children and their parents. Children often play truant or drop out of school because they have to help their parents in the house (take care of younger siblings, do house chores), get married while still under age, live in inadequate conditions and/ or feel ashamed of such a life (no water or electricity, surrounded by mudâ&#x20AC;Ś). Another important reason lies in the fact that their families are financially disadvantaged or that school curriculum is getting more complex and children lack sufficient learning support. Moreover, they tend to imitate the closest available role model/pattern of behaviour (early drop-outs). On top of the above, too many absences from school will eventually lead to their failing a grade. According to social welfare centres, problems with parental involvement in the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education include the parents refusing to come to the Centre despite official invitations and ignoring warnings that legal measures will be taken against them in order to protect the family. A very common excuse used by the parents is that they had to travel for work to a different town, during school

hours. It has been noted that some parents, despite repeated warnings, do not understand the gravity of the problem nor the need for their children to regularly attend school. Social welfare centres do not have a professional who would deal only with the Roma, which makes their employees overloaded and unable to pay sufficient attention to each problem. Other factors impeding the successful education of Romani children is the inability of school employees to do fieldwork and the savings imposed by the Ministry of Social Policy and Youth, which have an immediate effect on limiting progress. After 23 unauthorised absences, parents are served with a summons issued by the school. In case the parents to not appear, the summons will be resent. In case they ignore the second call as well or in case that circumstances generally do not improve, the Centre for social welfare shall be informed. Legal measures available in cases when children up to 15 years of age skip school include counselling services, written warnings, parental care monitoring, care outside the family with parental consent or based on judicial decision and filing action before the State Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office. The crucial problem for some Roma children is that they are irresponsible in terms of learning and other school obligations, meaning that they do not do their homework, carry their school supplies, study at home or attend school regularly (unauthorised absences). These problems begin in the first grade and especially after schoolwork increases, on the cusp between the fourth and the fifth grade. As a result, there is an increase in the

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

number of pupils who fail the same grade several times in a row and lose the right to schooling by the time they turn 15, the age by which they are obliged by the law to attend school. OBJECTIVES Main goal: REDUCE ABSENCES AND FINISH PRIMARY EDUCATION Specific objectives: 1. Improve academic results 2. Raise awareness among the parents about the need for and importance of education ACTIVITIES »» Inform the parents at meetings in the settlement and at individual meetings so that they are aware of the advantages of preschool education »» Warn local institutions about the conclusions derived from the statistics – that additional teachers and Roma assistants need to be employed in order to improve Roma children’s scholarly success »» Change the manner in which funds donated exclusively for textbooks are transferred »» Based on data collected from the school, inform the Centre for social welfare about the number of children included in the social welfare system who do not have the books solely due to their parents’ fault »» Meet with the parents (weekly); organise workshops with the parents »» Give students an opportunity to get help i.e. private lessons with volunteers (either school or local premises) »» Additional Croatian language lessons (in the school or in the settlement) »» More frequent monitoring of families that already have a truancy record »» Organise meetings between the representatives of the Centre for social welfare, school’s expert services and the families, in the school »» Organise additional visits to high-schools, inform the parents about these at meetings and tell them about their programmes, requirements and advantages of finishing primary school »» Conduct a survey to identify how many families have children aged between 3 and 6 who do not attend a preschool institution, and provide assistance »» Introduce extended stay for pupils enrolled in the second and the fourth grades »» Literacy workshops for the parents »» Counselling for parents and children aimed at

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improving their results at school Organised learning within the Roma settlement and learning through play (workshops)

REASONS FOR ENGAGING A MEDIATOR: »» Improving the flow of information between all parties involved »» Networking between institutions involved in child education »» Getting important messages across »» Keeping the parents informed »» Motivating the parents »» Faster flow of information – prevent stalling ADVANTAGES OF PROFESSIONAL MEDIATION »» Direct connection to Roma families, the school, Centre for social welfare and other institutions »» Quick reaction »» Mediation/transfer of information between families, centres, schools and other institutions »» Timely preparation of a list of children who will enrol in pre-school and primary school »» Talking to parents in case their children have unauthorised absences »» Mediation in case of conflict among parents; children; children and parents CONCLUSION Child development and their overall level of education are closely related to their parents’ level of schooling, their social and financial status, and their set of values. Children living in adverse circumstances are more likely to disobey school rules. Moreover, very few Roma parents have completed compulsory education, making regular schooling of children even more difficult. A further obstacle to cooperation with Roma parents is their lack of communication and improper reactions to school tasks and obligations, which they find irrelevant and refuse to comply with. In line with the above, there is a need to implement the described activities through a mediator whose role would be to connect all institutions involved in child education.

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RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

TRAINING FOR MEDIATORS WITH THE AIM OF INTEGRATING ROMANI CHILDREN IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM” PROJECT, DARDA Jovica Radosavljević, Jovana Petrović, Mirjam Ćorluka.

CONTEXT/ANALYSIS The Darda municipality is situated in the southwest part of Baranja, and it borders with the Bilje municipality in the east, Čeminac in the north, Jagodnjak in the northwest, Petrijevci in the west and south-west and the city of Osijek in the south. It lies ten kilometres away from Osijek, the seat of the county of Osijek-Baranja, on the international road between Osijek and the Republic of Hungary. There are four settlements in the Darda municipality: Darda, Mece, Švajcarnica and Uglješ. According to

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

the 2011 census, the Darda municipality had 6908 inhabitants. Most of the inhabitants are Croats (3848), Serbs (1683), Roma (650) and Hungarian (482). Most of the Roma inhabitants live in Darda. There are around five Roma families in Mece, one in Švajcarnica and three in Uglješ. The multiethnic constitution of the Darda municipality is characteristic of the entire area of Baranja. Baranja credits this to its geographic position and historical movements. Although its border position has its advantages, the inhabitants have come to learn its disadvantages during wartime. Baranja lost around 15 000 inhabitants between 1991 and 2011, which affected the decrease in the number of inhabitants in the Darda municipality. There are two Roma settlements in Darda – Zlatnica and Barake. Their population is decreasing, too, especially because of approximately 45 families’ recent departure to Canada in search of a better life. Ten new Roma families arrived to take their place. There are around 48 families, i.e. 172 inhabitants, in Zlatnica, while there are 83 families (312 inhabitants) in Barake. Roma have also inhabited the area around the cemetery, but there are also integrated Roma in the village – 339 inhabitants, i.e. approximately 71 families. Zlatnica and Barake differ in appearance. Roma in Zlatnice live in brick houses, mostly owned by them, even though they do not lease the land. In Barake, situated on the opposite side, families live in smaller homes, not all of which have water and electricity. Barake are owned by the municipality and the land should be leased because it is not owned by Roma.

The kindergarten Radost and Darda Elementary School are located in the village of Darda. There are 7 Roma children aged 1 to 7 in the kindergarten’s regular 10, 5-hour program, and another 7 children in the preschool program. The number of Roma children who should be attending kindergarten is much bigger and amounts to 31 children. Those parents who are interested in having their children attend kindergarten are experiencing problems because they do not satisfy the conditions. Since the kindergarten does not have enough space, the number of children it can receive is limited. This is why children with two employed parents have the advantage, then those with at least one employed parent. Roma children’s parents mostly do not have full-time jobs. The kindergarten principal believes pre-school education, a so-called zero class, might be the solution. This is why they will have to find room for a bigger number of children, who will have to attend classes. 15 Roma children will be obliged to attend pre-school from September. An elementary school is situated right across the kindergarten. It is 3 kilometres away from the children in Zlatnice, and 1 km away from the children in Barake. Pupils living around the cemetery are 200 m away from the school. Beside the principal, the pedagogue also plays an important role. The school had 538 pupils in school year 2012/2013, and 102 of them were Roma. In school year 2013/2014 the school had 523 pupils, 98 of whom were Roma. The principal encounters the problem of an extra class which appears each year during enrolment in the 1st grade. So far, there have always been two groups of children who followed the pre-school program, but a much larger number of children appear at enrolment so that another 1st grade has to be created. The question arises of the quality of these children’s preparedness for following classes, which affects the multiple factors important

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

for their end result in the teaching process. This causes the problem of lowered criteria for these pupils, a large number of whom are Roma, which has a negative end result. In this way, Roma pupils finish elementary school with low grades and are allowed to pass through the system, which consequently prevents them from enrolling at high school or leaves only a handful of vocational high schools to choose from. Roma children’s parents do not see the connection between successful education and better life quality so they do not encourage their children to work hard in school. It is better for them to be able to count on their children’s help with earning for the family. Many associations are active in Darda, including the Roma Cultural Society Darda whose representative organizes countless activities, many of which concern education. These activities are attempts to bring the educational system closer to Roma values. GOALS Main goal: improvement of the situation of Roma students in Darda. Special goals: 1. To include the biggest possible number of children in compulsory pre-school education from September. 2. To aid the overall development of Roma children enrolled at Darda Elementary School in order for all of them to obtain elementary education. Activities: »» To hold public discussions, before the beginning of pre-school education in September, in both Roma settlements in the aim of informing parents of their duties and obligations, explaining the

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concept of pre-school to the child and the parent. As the organizers of these events, mediators will mediate between parents of Roma children and the kindergarten principal and introduce the principal to the parents. Roma parents whose children are already attending pre-school will also act as mediators. To hold summer workshops for children who are about to start kindergarten and pre-school in order for them to meet the principal and educators who will surround them in their education.

The workshops will be based on a sport-competitive level adapted to the children’s age. They will be held in Đola Recreation Center and the kindergarten Radost. »» Old sports games in the centre for sport and recreation Đola for all parents whose children attend kindergarten Radost and Darda Elementary School. Alternatively, the events will be organized in September by the school, the kindergarten, the Red Cross, the Municipality and mediators. »» Organizing open days for the school and the kindergarten at the beginning of the new academic year so as to leave a friendly impression on the families and children and ensure an easier transition from parental care into school. »» Continuing free tutoring in subjects which pose a problem for Roma and non-Roma children. »» Introducing the control of absences from class – after the children’s unexplained absences, workers will inform the mediator, who will then become involved in a mutual search for reasons and help offers. »» Waking up the schoolchildren so they don’t miss classes on account of not having been woken up in time. Volunteers will be organized and come wake

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them up. Organizing extended stay for all children Organizing bimonthly meetings with parents where they could talk about their problems and find solutions.

PROFESSIONALS’ TASKS AND FUNCTIONS Mediator -> school / kindergarten principal – in this cooperation the mediator approaches the educational institution, receives correct official information necessary for the pupil or gives the school information about the pupil (paying close attention to ethics). Mediator -> pedagogue – they share information about the child’s condition, talk about the causes of said condition, search and propose possible solutions – both when the child makes progress and when it experiences difficulties. This partnership is very important for the child. The child’s development and progress largely depend on both sides’ interest and motivation. Mediator -> educators / teachers – the mediator helps people who work with children understand the child’s background (financial condition, parents’ literacy, family size, the state of the relations within the family...) and gives them necessary information. Educators notify mediators of specific pupils’ progress or retrogression, irregular class attendance or bigger problems with particular teaching content. They provide additional classes adapted to the child. Together, they find a suitable approach and teaching methods. In some cases mediators wake children up for school. Mediator -> Centre for Social Care – since in our

case the Social Service is outside the Roma place of residence (Beli Manastir), the mediator’s role is more than positive. The Centre for Social Care has a wide area of activity and not enough employees. Once again, mediators have shown themselves to be an absolutely necessary bridge in the communication between Roma and an institution. Social workers have quicker and more accurate insight into certain individuals’ conditions, while Roma have accurate information. Mediators help Roma handle different bureaucratic situations; they explain what the Roma must do and why, whether it can be asked of them, how to access particular documents; comprehend different expert content which is delivered to them via different paperwork when they want something. They also solve problems caused by illiteracy. Mediators explain the Roma’s rights, but also their obligations towards the Centre. They also help the Centre reach specific individuals or determine their condition. CONCLUSION Darda can be proud of its multinational structure. Roma are an important thread in this fabric; they enrich the community with the abundance of their customs and dances. In spite of this, the worrisome rate of their unemployment hampers their life quality. An analysis has determined that the root of the problem lies in low rates of education. We believe that in order to remove this stumbling block, all efforts should be focused on increasing the number of children in kindergartens. This helps them overcome the initial negative difference which they must deal with. By accepting certain rules of conduct and mastering basic skills, Roma children are aided in adjusting to the school environment. When children perceive the beginning of education as a positive incentive, we believe the chances for further longer and

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

better education will increase. The mediator’s role fills the blanks in communication between factors important for the child’s correct development in all directions within the educational system. Another important factor is the non-Roma community’s reaction, which should be mindful of difference. This is not an easy task which can be achieved overnight because a large number of factors affect the child’s development. This is best illustrated by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model in which the child is in the centre of various concentric circles. When we start from the child, there is also a microsystem, a mesosystem, an exosystem, and a macrosystem. As the child grows, these circles grow fuller because there are more influential factors. Parents, siblings, the extended family, neighbours, friends, teachers, church, the local community, media, the parents’ place of employment, ideas and beliefs are just a small part of these factors. We should bear in mind all of the above factors when we approach the child. This will make it easier for us to understand each child’s background story and find the best way to establish communication with it, which will result in a trusting relationship necessary for both the child and the mediator, and quality results to their mutual benefit.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

RESOURCES GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSIÓN OF ROMA STUDENTS

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the following persons and institutions on behalf of our organization, the association Asociación Socioeducativa Llere: »»

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Our partners in the project (the Roma National Council and Galdovo Elementary School from Sisak) for their invaluable, hard work for the duration of the project, Public institutions from the spheres of politics, society and education and their representatives on a national, county and local level, especially the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb, Different non-governmental organizations for their support and their coordination in different phases of the project, The Spanish Embassy for their continued support, City governments of Sisak, Kutina, Slavonski Brod and Darda, for having us and opening their doors to the implementation of mediation activities, Different expert associates who contributed to the training process with their knowledge and experience and in this way enriched the project And of course, to our dear participants for their efforts to improve the situation of Roma students in Croatia.

MEDIATORS FOR THE INTEGRATION

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Of course, this project would not have been realized without essential financing by the European Union through Structural Funds, specifically through the program of Development of Human Resources.

boys and girls who have a right to have and enjoy their education.

The project was approved with the total amount of 150.440, 37 â&#x201A;Ź, and co-financed with 93,67% through the above-mentioned European fund with a total sum of 140.917, 49 â&#x201A;Ź. This manual reflects our work during 2013 and 2014. We firmly believe that the effects of this project will be intensive and permanent in target cities and counties, for all the participants, but above all we believe that the effects of the project will reflect positively on Roma