Roma Inclusion in the Greek-Cypriot Educational System – Reflections on Teacher Training Needs

Yiasemina Karagiorgi, Ministry of Education and Culture Eleni Roussounidou, Counselling Psychologist, Ministry of Education and Culture Chrystalla Kaloyirou, Pedagogical Institute of Cyprus, CyprusLoizos Symeou, Department of Education Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

Comenius Project 134018-LLP-1-2007-1-CY-COMENIUS-CMP

Teacher In-Service Training for Roma Inclusion

The study The study:

Focuses on the findings of a needs-assessment study of teachers and Roma families Is undertaken within the framework of a European Union funded project entitled

INSETRom Aims: Whether and how the educational system and the schools set an educational opportunity

for Roma children, constructing a comprehensible picture about the ways in which education is perceived by schools and Roma families

Assumptions: Teachers’ stereotypes, emotional reactions and attitudes towards Roma & Roma

families’ concerns and perceptions of practical difficulties can substantially inform the design of appropriate in-service teacher training.

Data collected: Through semi-structured interviews with Roma pupils, their parents and their teachers in

the three schools attended by the largest numbers of Roma children in the Greek-Cypriot educational system.

Roma in Cyprus Cigani or Tsiggani: the smallest minority living on the island (Muslim

Roma:Ghurbeti, Greek Orthodox Christian Roma: Mandi) The first written record in the Chronicle of Cyprus in 1468 AD During the Venetian possession of the island, Roma came as soldiers

for military purposes from Corfu A second wave arrived with the Ottoman conquest of the island (1571

AD) In 1911, during the British Colonial Rule in Cyprus (1878-1959),

records refer to only 152 Roma In 1960 became officially part of the Turkish-Cypriot community (520

Roma were reported as belonging to the Turkish-Cypriot community).

Roma in Cyprus 1974 Turkish invasion in Cyprus: Mandi living in the north were forcibly

moved to the south and Ghurbeti to the north (Marsh & Strand, 2003) October 1999 -during 2001: several Roma groups from the north

moved to the south Settled in socio-economically deprived areas April 2003: the influx of Roma to the south increased Larger numbers of Roma resided in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled

south Migration between the two sectors became more regular No official records on the Roma by Republic of Cyprus First half of the current decade: no allowances for medical treatment,

education or work

Roma Education in Cyprus

The constitution of the Republic of Cyprus: Roma pupils living at the south part of the country enrol in Greek-Cypriot schools

Roma who fail to send their children to school are not considered to violate the law (unofficially???)

Social services try to convince Roma families to urge their children to attend and stay in school

Parents are presented with various incentives, such as uniforms, shoes, school equipment, in order to keep their children in schools

Roma Education in Cyprus The numbers of Turkish and Roma pupils in Greek-Cypriot primary

schools: 2000-2001: 30 2003-2004: 90 2004-2005: 91 (29 in Paphos and 62 in Limassol) 2008-2009: 100

Studies on Roma pupils’ attendance: Roma parents in Limassol saw no reason to send their children to

school, as they understood nothing; they got into fights and felt excluded (Hatzitheodoulou-Loizidou & Symeou, 2003; Trimikliniotis, 2007)

Racial prejudice towards the Roma, as well as negative attitudes of the Roma towards education (Demetriou & Trimikliniotis, 2007)

Factors predetermining the poor performance of Roma students Measures adopted to provide education for Roma were not

evaluated Inadequacy of the school curricula Absence of relevant teacher training Language barriers Overall failure of the system to recognise Roma culture and

contribution to society(Demetriou & Trimikliniotis, 2007)

Methodology Fieldwork in schools

3 schools: 2 primary (P1 and P2) and 1 secondary Number of Roma pupils:

P1-urban area: 44 Turkish-Cypriots or Roma, 9 Turkish speaking, 57 Greek-Cypriots, other P2-rural area : 6 Roma Secondary: 10-12 Turkish-Cypriot or Roma

Irregular attendance Language of communication: only Turkish School characteristics:

Presence of Roma, Turkish-Cypriot and non-Greek speaking students Low socio-economic composition of the region Large numbers of children facing educational difficulties Belong to the Zones of Educational Priority

Semi-structured interviews of a sample of teachers’, Roma parents and Roma children Comparison between the outcomes of the three groups: Similarities and differences in

perceptions on the emerging themes

Findings (Teachers’ accounts) Absenteeism

Roma sporadic and unsystematic school attendance The schools DID not pursue the reasons behind disappearance Attendance better during lower primary school grades (compared to higher grades)

Motivation Problems frequently attributed to Roma culture Appeared related to Roma children’s lack of various skills (adjustment, language,

literacy)

School adjustment Roma integration, an ILLUSION Despite reported behaviors indicating prejudices, no measures or initiatives

against upcoming discrimination.

Findings (Teachers’ accounts)TEACHER TRAINING NEEDS FOR

TRAINING ON ROMA CULTURE No or limited background in intercultural education Lack of knowledge about legislative aspects concerning Roma education Perceptions of Roma culture related to Roma nomadism and disposition

towards music, sports and fighting EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF CLASSES WITH ROMA CHILDREN Application of pedagogical approaches resembling the traditional spectrum,

despite reference to mixed-ability grouping and individualistic instruction. CLARIFICATION OF AIMS AND EXPECTATIONS WITH REGARDS TO ROM

A EDUCATION ORGANIZED, SUFFICIENT TRAINING

Findings (Families’ accounts) Social isolation

Cultural background completely unknown to teachers; Roma culturally ‘invisible’ within the school

Limited learning in school

Language Barriers Assistant (belonging to a community centre) as a mediator Importance of having a Turkish speaking teacher at school Interviewed children noticed to have limited understanding of Greek

Bullying Bullying by other children because of Roma origin and cultural difference

Analysis Administrators and teachers expect Roma children to quickly conform

to typical classroom curriculum. Trying to involve Roma children to practices related to how ‘typical’

school children look and act -eg. through homework- the schools confirm rather than challenge Roma children’s feelings of marginality.

Roma habits, rituals and other expressions of meaning and value to Roma families lay open to ignorance by the schools while parents, unable to communicate in Greek, rely on teachers for help with regards to school work.

Teachers’ accounts reflect inadequate training background and lack of specialized knowledge on Roma education.

Repercussions for teacher training Need for a comprehensive teacher in-service training programme, based on

this initial needs assessment.

Specialized training not only in multicultural or intercultural education, but particularly focused on Roma culture & training on how to methodologically address Roma education, urgently provided to Greek-Cypriot teachers. Curriculum development: Need for teachers to tailor the curriculum to Roma

children and reform teaching material appropriately. Effective classroom management: Need for teachers to manage ethically-

diverse classrooms and deal with the bullying problems. Teacher-parent communication: Need for teachers to learn about community-

oriented educational approaches with high levels of community involvement.

Conclusions Project INSETRom aimed to break through the indicated cycle of social exclusion,

perpetuated through lack of educational integration of Roma children, indicated by several research studies.

Roma education = A challenge to school officials and practitioners, who face the daily charge to integrate these children in the Greek-Cypriot educational system.

Teachers and administrators not prepared professionally or temperamentally to meet the challenge the schools perform no miracles for Roma and their children.

Teachers in urgent need of appropriate teacher training to improve their understanding of Roma history and culture and enable them to respond to the challenge of teaching in classrooms with Roma children.

Reported findings point, in particular, towards training programmes addressing needs-based interventions in curriculum development, classroom methodology as well as parent-teacher communication.

Absenteeism All of a sudden, they ‘disappear’… Similarly, they ‘appear’ after a year.

During the first year, after the first rains they would ‘disappear’ … (just like snails coming out after rain, these people would do the opposite, i.e. disappear after the raining period starts’). (teacher 1)

They come to school regularly but they do not attend all their classes. (teacher 5)

…As time goes by, more and more Roma children are enrolled in our school from early ages whereas Greek Cypriot pupils avoid enrolment in our school because of the Roma presence… They go to other schools… (teacher 2)

Motivation They are happy just living as they live. They do not want anything else from

school and do not expect anything else from us. (teacher 4)

They [the Roma pupils] are not interested in learning, they come to school to play and socialise, they search for an excuse to go out of the class… these are aspects of their culture. (teacher 3)

Roma pupils lack skills to comply with rules. It is very difficult for them to integrate in the classroom. I do not believe that these pupils benefit from school. (teacher 4)

Roma [pupils] feel like strangers at school. (teacher 2)

School adjustment The children do not get integrated and they never will. They may

acquire a number of desirable attitudes/habits such as the love to learn, the habit to hold a spoon and a fork to eat; however, they will always stand out as different. (teacher 1)

They are close to their family….they only communicate with their family members…. they form a clique against others….they feel to be treated as ‘them’ and ‘others’ .(teacher 3)

Teacher training needs Roma apparently like music and sports… Also, girls like dancing, but

after they are 11 years they start helping in housework and taking care of their younger siblings. (teacher 1)

Once one of the female teachers got into conflict with a student, who threatened to beat her up. I ask the student ‘Don’t I get angry with you as well?’ The student answers ‘Yes, but you are ‘human’ (man)’. This is a social dimension of their culture; that it is OK for a man to get angry but not for a woman. We need social research studies to know more about Roma culture. (teacher 2)

…to know about their history….from where they came…..how they appeared in our country…..why they were not affiliated in the system…. (teacher 3)

Teacher training needs What do we (the formal society) want from them? What exactly are

the needs of these people… and do we really want to fulfil their needs and how? Can someone give us an answer? (teacher 5)

Teacher training needs I do this job without having any training that would enable me to

teach this specific group of pupils. Part from what I know for these people comes from my experience and part of it from what I read. I would like to know more from organized seminars that would be designed for our -teachers in this kind of schools- needs. These seminars should be designed and executed by experts.(teacher 2)

I have not acquired any knowledge on Roma culture on an organized basis. I have read by myself several books. For the first time, I learned about the Roma through my school experiences… I would like more organized seminars from specialists. (teacher 5)

Social isolation They (the teachers) do not know how we live here. They never came to

see us. Nobody knows us. Nobody asked us what we need. (parent 4)

I would like my teachers to know more about the way we live. We celebrate different things, we eat different food…(child 1)

The Turkish-Cypriot play football and with the computers at school and the Greek-Cypriots read. (child 1)

Language barriers There should be a Turkish teacher as well in school ….Some children

do not speak Greek so well. If there was a teacher speaking Turkish this would be very helpful for them. (parent 4)

If our teachers could speak to us in Turkish, I think I would have stayed in school. (child 4)

Bullying Other children hit my children. My daughter has a broken arm… My son

was hit on his ear. (parent 3) He [his son] was older than his classmates. They were making fun of him

[…] He went to the school nearby but got in quarrels with other children. He did not have a good time there. They called him “Turk” […]; my girls went to school but did not finish because of the fights. (parent 2)

I like school, but I do not like it when children fight each other. Turkish-Cypriots and Greeks fight each other. There are a lot of fights, but I am not involved.(child 4)

This teacher, he teases us and make us fight between each other... (child 2)