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POVERTY AND ETHNICITY: THE CASE OF ROMA MIGRANTS IN SCOTLAND
“The teachers treat you with respect, even if you are Roma”
Roma families’ engagement with education and other services in Glasgow
Project report by Dr Daniela Sime & Dr Giovanna Fassetta, University of Strathclyde and Dr Michele McClung, GCC
Acknowledgements to:Parents, children and practitioners taking part
British Academy- For funding the projectMaria Walker, Head of EAL Services, and Keith Moore-Milne, Head of Roma team, for local
insight, contacts, and support
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Outline
• Situation of Roma in Europe
• Existing research on Roma children’s education
• Methodology
• Data on Roma children in Glasgow’s schools
• Children’s and parents’ experiences
• Key issues from the research
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The Roma in Europe
• Biggest ethnic minority
• Estimates of 10-14 million in Europe- largest groups in Central and Eastern Europe
• Mostly treated as one group, in reality, several groups with distinct histories, languages, lifestyles
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Issues in the education of Roma in Europe
Early years education• Only about 20% to 50% enrolled, depending on country• Bulgaria, Romania- ¾ of all population attend, but only 20% of Roma• Around 80% enter school with no early years preparation• Enrolment is expensive and selective, children may not have proof of
vaccination or birth certificates
Primary school• Limited access, depending on country policies- Austria, France, Hungary, Spain- about 50% attend- Romania, Slovakia- about 30%• High dropout rates before secondary• Perceived discrimination through the curriculum, teachers’ attitudes
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Other issues
• Segregation in nurseries/schools – Often separate classes or sat at back of class– Intra-class segregation- different curricular standards in same class
• Higher rates of children in Special Needs schools- About 60% of all children in SEN schools in Slovakia- 1 in 5 of all Roma children in Poland are in SEN schools
• Very low achievement- Only about 10%-20% completing secondary - Low achievement overall in exams or not sitting- Very high illiteracy in the adult population- as high as 90%
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Research questions
• What data do we have on Roma children in Glasgow’s schools?
• What are Roma migrant families’ perceived needs and experiences in relation to education in Scotland?
• What are Roma migrant children and parents’ expectations and cultural attitudes to formal education?
• What are the perceived barriers in Roma migrant children’s education and how can these be tackled?
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Methodology
• Data analysis on 389 Roma pupils (2011-2012)• Interviews with 8 service providers
– Education, Health, Social Work, Third sector
• Interviews with 22 parents (20 women)– 18 Slovak Roma– 4 Romanian Roma– 2 Czech Roma
• Interviews with 10 children– 7 Slovak Roma– 3 Romanian Roma
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Govanhill
• South-east of Glasgow• Very deprived- 5 of its 12 zones
are in the bottom 15% of national datazones
• 52 ethnicities among 15,000 residents
• 40% children- in workless households
• High rates of violent crime, domestic and drug abuse
• Estimates of about 3,000 Roma migrants
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Achievement of Roma in context
• Key predictors of achievement:
- Poverty - Ethnicity - Parental education- Attitudes towards learning- Aspirations
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Link between poverty-ethnicity-achievement
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Roma children in Govanhill
Roma RollPrimary Total
Secondary Total
242 147School Roll (Census 12) 813 3193Roma as % of Total Roll 29.8 4.6
Nationality Primary % Secondary %Czech 2.1 3.4Czech Roma 0.4 0Romanian 28.9 23.8Slovakian 68.6 72.8
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Roma children’s competence in English
Primary % Secondary %EAL Competent 0.0 0.7Developing Competence 4.1 19.0Early Acquisition 16.9 44.2New to English 61.2 18.4Total EAL 82.2 82.3OTHEREnglish as a ‘first language’ 1.7 6.8Limited communication 1.4Not assessed/Unknown 16.1 17.7Total Other 17.8 17.7Total 100.0 14
Scotland – 4 % EAL pupils; Glasgow- 15% EAL pupils
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Attendance
• Lower attendance than general population
• Days lost to exclusion
Roma %Whole
school %Primary 81.5 93.8Secondary 57.9 90.8
Roma Exclusion (per
1000)
Whole School Exclusion
(per 1000 Pop)Primary 0.0 64.5Secondary 0.1 374.9
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S4 SQA Attainment
Year/ Stage S4 Roma % S4 Whole School %English 38 96Maths 42 96
English & Maths 38 94
5+ SCQF Level 3 or Better 38 94
5+ SCQF Level 4 or Better 0 72
5+ SCQF Level 5 or Better 0 27
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Better opportunities for children as motivation to migrate
• Access to better education• Treated fairly and inclusively• Racism as a ‘push’ factor
“You know, for us it’s good enough that children are accepted as they are, not put into special schools like it happens back home, just because you are Gypsy. I was concerned they will do this to my child and I was at the school everyday, checking, not trusting them, but now I’m more relaxed.”
(Greta, Slovak Roma mother)
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Children’s education
• Experiences and views of the education system- Very positive overall- Perceive teachers and other staff supportive- Often start of with worries of segregation
• Parents’ aspirations for their children - many felt they raised their aspirations here, but overall still relatively low expectations
• Some ‘hiding’ children from schools and services, especially children (esp. girls) of secondary school age
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“We like it here”
“We like it here. They show an interest in my child, although we’ve not been here long, they accepted her straight away, they show an interest in getting her ready for school.”
(Irina, Romanian mother)
Researcher: What do you think of school here?Helena: I like it very much, much better than in Slovakia. The teachers
teach differently, you have more choice.Researcher: Is there anything that was better in Slovakia?Helena: No.Researcher: What about maths [her favourite subject], is it easier here or was it easier in Slovakia?Helena: It’s easier here. And everyone is just nicer.
(Helena, Secondary school)
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Early years in Govanhill
Major barriers for Roma families- limited, insufficient provision locally- cultural barriers and negative experiences of parents in country
of origin- difficulties in registering (forms too long, in English, parents not
knowing the system)- limited alternative provision
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Views on early years provision
“The provision for early years is just not enough. They don’t have enough places and most children can’t get a place until they are 4, which means that they are missing out on learning, and also they don’t have any exposure to language.”
(John, Charity manager)
“When you register, I had to ask someone to help me, because the form was 10 pages long, and most of the stuff, I didn’t know, like phone numbers, address, where is your doctor, how much money you have and I just couldn’t do it.”
(Bella, Romanian Roma mother)
“Who else can look better after my boy than me? Send him there to nursery, when he needs to sleep in the afternoon, and he needs his mother if he falls over or something. What would I do if he goes (to nursery)?”
(Raluca, Roma Romanian mother)
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Issues that emerge for education
• Early years: provision of sufficient places locally, tackle cultural barriers, make enrolment easier; engage parents early
• Achievement and attainment: targeted interventions needed to increase attendance and tackle underachievement
• Parental engagement: challenge attitudes of disengagement, create opportunities for adult literacy – ‘schools as hubs for family learning’
• Ethnic segregation: Address segregation of Roma in specific schools, to avoid perpetuating their marginalisation some schools have 50%-80% EEU Roma intake, with almost no native English speaking children
• Identify Roma children absent from education
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Further issues for policy
• Funding: Clear need for a ‘pupil deprivation premium’ to incentivise services and help them develop tailored interventions (catch up programmes, mentoring, extra tutoring etc.)
• Policies to minimise impact of poverty for Roma: better access to social housing, access to welfare and employment
• Increase access to and information on statutory services
• Roma women: Facilitate their inclusion, education and empowerment
• Better representation(s) of Roma communities in initiatives
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