Sarmite Joma, Centre for Education

SUPPORT TO ROMA FAMILIES –
ONE OF DROPOUT
SOLVING WAYS
the Eexperience of Latvia
Sarmite Joma,
Mag.Paed.
Education Department of Jelgava Municipality
www.jip.jelgava.lv
Center for Education Initiatives
www.iic.lv
LATVIA – one of the three Baltic States
and the Member of European Union
Territory 64 589 km2
Population- 2 217 053
62.1% Latvian
26.9% Russian
3.3% Belarusian
2.2% Ukrainian
1.2% Lithuanian
0,43 % Roma
5,07% other nationalities
JELGAVA – one of the 4 largest cities in
Latvia
• Territory 60.3 km2
• Population- 65 635
60%
Latvian
27.3 % Russian
3.7%
Belarusian
2.3 % Ukrainian
2,3 % Roma
4,4% other nationalities
Legislation of education in Latvia • The main documents, what define the sphere of education
in Latvia, are
Education Law
1998
General Education Law 1999
The more specific guaranties, aims and goals are regulated by the
normative acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia
Preschool education –municipal liability
Since 2002 – education of
5-6 years old children
is obligatory.
In the democratic, multicultural
society every child has the
right to equal quality education.
The Low of Education (1998) forbids the
differential treatment to education.
It means that Roma people have the same
rights and obligations with regard to
education as other Latvian population.
According to research of Center for Educational Initiatives
«Roma Right to Education: Implementing Situation in Latvia»
http://www.iic.lv/en/publications/rti_research_eng.pdf
The statistics, as well as the European Commission's report
shows that the Roma community is the most
disadvantaged ethnic group, which is the lowest level of
education and the number of employed legally.
• Research data:
- more than a third - about 39% of Roma pupils leave
school early, because the choice to work is better than
the study,
- 13% do not continue studies because they have their
own family,
- 13% of Roma children do not continue studies because
their parents don`t allow it for different reasons.
The main obstacles and problems in Roma children education :
• Unpreparedness of Roma children for starting primary school
compared with other children (very little of Roma children attends
pre-school),
• Language difficulties in the beginning of the studies at school Roma children are able to communicate only in their own - Roma
language;
• Ethnic background and cultural values of The Roma community;
• Deep social problems of many Roma families;
• Teachers are not professionally prepared to work with Roma
students;
• Lack of adequate training materials and summaries of the best
practices/ experiences;
• The school’s, other parents’, local community’s biased attitudes
against the Roma people.
Projects of Center for Education Initiatives (CEI)
•
2011/2012 - The research "FINANCING AND GOVERNANCE OF EDUCATION FOR CWD:
FOCUS ON EFFECTIVENESS, EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY"
•
2011/2012 - "TRAINING OF PEDAGOGUES FOR INCLUSION OF ROMA CHILDREN"
•
2011/2012 - "CREATION OF THE SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR WORK WITH ROMA CHILDREN"
•
2011/2012 - "INCLUSIVE FAMILY, PRE-SCHOOL, SCHOOL AND SOCIETY"
•
2011/2012 - "SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY FOR INCLUSION OF ROMA CHILDREN"
•
2008/2010 - "INTEGRATION'S SUITCASE" FOR THE CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
•
2009/2011 - "QUALITY INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES"
•
2007/2009 - EUROPEAN DIMENSION IN PARENT EDUCATION
•
2008 - GOOD PRACTICES OF TEACHING ROMA CHILDREN: TEACHER HANDBOOK
•
2007/2008 - "CULTURE OF TOLERANCE IN LATVIA'S ENVIRONMENT"
•
2003/2006 - INCLUES: CLUES TO INCLUSIVE AND COGNITIVE EDUCATION
•
2005/2006 - ROMA IN LOCAL COMMUNITY AND SCHOOLS
•
2005/2006 - A TIMELY VISIT AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT
•
2004/2005 - ROMA CHILD IN A WELCOMING SCHOOL!
•
2003/2004 - STEP BY STEP CASE STUDY
•
2003/2004 - PARENTS STRIVE FOR INCLUSION
•
2003/2004 - QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ROMA CHILDREN
•
2002/2003 - EARLY STEPS FOR SUCCESSFUL INCLUSION
•
FROM 2002 - CHILDREN'S BOOKS WEB PUBLISHING
•
FROM 1997 - STEP BY STEP
http://www.iic.lv/en/projects.html
Solutions• Creating multicultural,
inclusive groups/classes
and involvement of Roma
children in early education
* Teacher trainings for
work in multicultural,
inclusive groups/classes
* Teacher assistant with Roma background
as intermediary between school and Roma
family
* Parent support
centers in schools
The benefits• Roma children are in shools
• Educated adults (teachers, school administrators, local government
representatives, parents)
• Teachers assistants with Roma background
• Multicultural education environment for 5-7 year olds
• Children's books in Roma and Latvian languages
• Parent Support Centers
• Publicity
• The initiative for new projects («Social rehabilitation program for Roma families with
preschool or school age children» 2012-2013)
Roma children's inclusion and integration into mainstream
education and integration of their families, especially the Roma
seniors, in society, during cooperation and intercultural dialogue
for reduction of the social disparity is promoted
There are no “them” and “us”...
In a world that size there can only be “we”
– all of us work together
Don Ward
Sources• Mihails Hazans. Ethnic Minorities in the Latvian
Labour Market, 1997–2009// How Integrated is
Latvian Society? An Audit. Ed. Nils Muižnieks. Rīga:
Latvijas Universitāte, 2010. – 148.p.
• Education Development Guidelines 2007-2013
http://izm.izm.gov.lv/upload_file/Normativie_akti/izm_260906_izgl_att_
pamatnost_2007-2013.doc
• Roma Right to Education: Implementing Situation
in Latvia http://www.iic.lv/en/publications/rti_research_eng.pdf
• Roma Identity in a multicultural School
http://www.iic.lv/en/publications/petijums-eng-pdf.pdf
Thank you!