Education Policies: A Concrete Hope

Minority Rights Group International
Source: MRG International Report, 1995/4.

In the course of confirming a cultural space for Roma/Gypsies, scholastic questions as well as those of a broad educational nature, figure prominently. It is these which have occupied pride of place in the attentions of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and a number of national governments over the past decade, and which continue to do so. These are delicate and sensitive issues, but among the most crucial in developing a positive future, and several points should be noted:

First, the gap between in-family education and the school world as it is most often proposed, must be taken into account. To date, too little attention has been paid to ascertaining the educative values and dynamics operating within the Roma/Gypsy family. As a result, teaching practice is all too often in opposition to in-family education, instead of complementing it. Second, the manner, in which Roma/Gypsy parents educate their children must not be judged according to the criteria employed by surrounding societies in educating theirs; to do so is to adopt an ethnocentric, deprecating attitude. Indeed, in many regards, the education Roma/Gypsy parents give their children corresponds to many of the values which the professional educators around them wish to convey to the children of their own society: autonomy, responsibility, community values etc. Finally, in developing the scope and duration of schooling, European countries have sometimes allowed it to take over much of the role of in-family education, with a correlative transfer by parents of their educative role to the school; gradually, 'schooling' and 'education' have become virtually synonymous. Yet if this is the reality for most, it is not so for all, and it is worth pointing out that for some, including Roma/Gypsies, school is merely a part (and sometimes less than that) of their children's education.1 Jean-Pierre Liegois describes the current situation:

The situation is very grave. All Roma/Gypsy communities are deeply affected by difficult living conditions. Throughout Europe, rejection in a variety of forms remains the dominant characteristic in relations between Roma/Gypsies and their immediate environment: accommodation difficulties, health hazards, evictions, denial of access to public places etc. Tension can rapidly escalate into open conflict, particularly during periods of economic difficulty and widespread unemployment; for Roma/Gypsies, the upshot is harsh treatment in a climate of perpetual insecurity.

In such a context, and given the fact that the school as an institution is often part of what Roma/Gypsies perceive to be an aggressive environment, education may be seen as yet another imposition, and one whose quality leaves much to be desired. Parents may feel that the school's proposed formation of their children may de-form, that is, culturally estrange them. And for many, this analysis is well-founded. Parental persistence of these communities are a sign of the strength of Roma/Gypsy culture and of parents' capacity to educate their children over the generations.

As a consequence, we must not take the effects of the overall situation (disinterest, absenteeism, outright refusal) as the causes of scholastic failure. As long as relations between Roma/Gypsy communities and surrounding society remain conflictual, parents' and children's relations with the school remain largely determined by the negative profile of these broader relations.

We have thus identified a very strong primary link between the general situation, and that pertaining in the schools. In the member states of the European Community in the late 1980s, only 30-40 per cent of Roma/Gypsy children attended school with a degree of regularity; over half received no schooling at all; a very small percentage got as far as secondary level. Scholastic achievement, particularly as regards the attainment of functional literacy, is not in keeping with the amount of time spent in schools.

Study and reflection indicate the existence of a second link, just as strong as the first, between the general situation and that pertaining in the schools. Roma/Gypsies' age-old adaptability is currently being tried to the limits, and their established strategies for adapting to their environment are becoming inadequate. Therefore, their difficulties in surviving as a cultural minority group are on the rise. Today any activity, particularly of an economic nature, demands a basic grasp of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Illiteracy no longer provides protection from the aggression of other cultures as channeled through the school and what is taught there, but becomes a serious handicap in an environment in which the written word is an unavoidable reality.

Lack of schooling is a serious handicap for economic reasons, but equally serious for social and psychological reasons as well: for example, dependence on the social services, a situation which is incompatible with the Roma/Gypsies' legitimate pride in handling their own, and their children's affairs. For Roma/Gypsies, schooling is synonymous with autonomy, and providing them with it will ensure significant savings for the public purse: the cost of adapted school provision is far less than the expense of providing social assistance which Roma/Gypsies by and large reject.

In other words, the future of Roma/Gypsy communities depends to a large degree on the schooling available to their children. Active adaptation to the environment, in social as well as economic terms, today requires a grasp of certain basic elements which enable one to analyze and comprehend a changing reality. On the cultural plane these same elements can serve as tools for those wishing to conserve, affirm and develop their own unique identity.

Parents are aware of this, and are increasingly willing to send their children to school. Here we find a crucial second link between the general situation and the schools: The transformation of living conditions for economic activities, entails a necessity for basic schooling, and with it, parental desire to ensure that their children receive it. At present, there is widening rift between Roma/Gypsy children and those of surrounding society, and many already difficult situations will deteriorate rapidly and dramatically with the concomitant risk of certain forms of marginality and/or delinquency.

The analyses carried out nonetheless emphasize that it is possible to envisage a more positive future:

• Measures associated with intercultural education open the way to new practices validating the different cultures present in the classroom, taking each child's own capabilities and experiences as their starting point. Such measures make it possible to adapt the school to Roma/gypsy children.

• Every state has attempted, through diverse experiments and/or programmes, to respond to Roma/gypsy parents' wishes regarding school provision for their children. Some aspects of these efforts have been successful, others less so. It is important to identify, analyze and publicize those approaches which have demonstrated their value, to support innovative projects implemented in partnership, and to suggest new ones.

 The broad evaluation made possible by the study prepared for the European Commission clearly demonstrates that the recommended holistic, structural approach (through cooperation, coordination, and information) has a significant impact on overcoming the major obstacles blocking Roma/Gypsy children's access to school.
In many ways Roma/Gypsies demonstrate better adaptation to present changes, and to future ones, than other sections of the population: due to their economic flexibility, geographic mobility, in-family education, and communal lifestyle linking the individual into a network of reciprocal security and giving him or her a solid identity. Their society is young, with as many children as adults. Schooling is gradually on the rise. The children will read - and then they will write, enriching European culture with their contributions. These children must have the opportunity to get into school, and to be personally and culturally respected while there.

There are possibilities for action. After six centuries in Western Europe, Roma/Gypsies are still waiting for a coherent, concerted, respectful policy concerning them to be drawn up and applied. Scholastic policy is part of the package, and must indeed be a driving force. The means of achieving this are both simple and inexpensive.