Roma Inclusion in the Greek-Cypriot Educational System – Reflections on
Teacher Training Needs
Yiasemina Karagiorgi, Eleni Roussounidou, Chrystalla Kaloyirou, and Loizos Symeou*
Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus; Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus; Ministry of Education and
Culture, Cyprus; European University, Cyprus
ABSTRACT
Roma school enrolment, attendance, attainment and dropout rates emerged as ‘hot’ issues in the GreekCypriot educational system after travel restrictions across the demarcation line were eased in April 2003 and
Turkish-speaking Roma resided in the south. This study reports on a research study undertaken within the
framework of the INSETRom project. Data from semi-structured interviews, collected from 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, indicated the marginalization of Roma despite official policies of nonsegregation and employment of supportive measures. Teachers, all of Greek origin, raised issues related to
Roma children motivation, absenteeism, and school adjustment; from their part, Roma parents and children
reported bullying, language difficulties and social isolation. Data suggest that for Roma education to become
more inclusive there is a need for adequate teacher training that will aim at enhancing teachers’
understanding of Roma history and culture and enabling teachers to respond to the challenge of teaching in
multicultural classrooms where manifestations of discriminatory attitudes are apparent. The study outlines
contextual and methodological directions for the design of such training, leading to needs-based
interventions in curriculum development, classroom management and teacher-parent communication. (201
words)
Keywords: Teacher Training, Roma Education, Cyprus, INSETRom Project, Needs Assessment
Introduction
The history of nomadism has always been a history of rejection (Berthier, 1979), while Roma
continue to remain marginalized in 21st century Europe (Cretan & Turnock, 2008). The
reproduction of Roma disadvantaged living circumstances is often attributed to lack of
educational attainment (Abend, 2006) while several studies (e.g. in the United Kingdom,
Cudworth, 2008; in Spain, Mariano, 2004; in Cyprus, Demetriou & Trimikliniotis, 2007) express
concerns over Roma/Traveller children’s educational exclusion and underachievement.
In light of a mismatch between educational policy and practice concerning this particular
ethnic group in the Greek-Cypriot educational system, the current paper focuses on the role of inservice teacher training towards more inclusive Roma education. A basic assumption in this
paper is that teachers’ stereotypes, emotional reactions and attitudes towards Roma along with
Roma families’ concerns and perceptions of practical difficulties can substantially inform the
design of appropriate in-service teacher training. Thus, when teachers’ professional development
is focused upon reported needs, it is likely to be more effective (Duncombe & Armour, 2004). In
this regard, the current paper focuses on the findings of a needs-assessment study of teachers
and Roma families in three Greek-Cypriot schools, undertaken within the framework of the
European Union funded project INSETRom (IN-SErvice Training for Roma Inclusion, 134018LLP-1-2007-1-CY-COMENIUS-CMP).
*
E-mail: yiasemink@cytanet.com.cy
Education of Roma in Cyprus
Roma in Cyprus (Cigani or Tsiggani) are one of the smallest minorities living in Cyprus. Despite
testimonies of Roma presence in Cyprus since 500 AD, it is more possible that Roma arrived in
the island between 1322 and 1400 as a result of Indian migration (Marsh & Strand, 2003). During
the eighteenth century most Roma of Cyprus were reported as Muslim Roma (Ghurbeti), whereas
fewer, reported as living amongst them, were Greek Orthodox Christian Roma (Mandi).
After the independence of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, the Roma population of Cyprus
became officially part of the Turkish-Cypriot community. Although the language of Roma in
Cyprus was closely related to the Roma of Europe and both Mandi and Ghurbeti spoke a kind of
Romany-similar to English Romani (Marsh & Strand, 2003)- the language of the younger
generation of the former became Greek and the latter, Turkish. Following the 1974 Turkish
invasion in Cyprus, Mandi living in the north were forcibly moved to the south and Ghurbeti to the
north (Marsh & Strand, 2003). After being moved, Roma settled in houses abandoned by their
original owners (Greek- or Turkish-Cypriots) creating new communal groupings on both sides of
the demarcation line.
Starting from October 1999 and especially during 2001, several Roma groups from the north
moved to the south and settled in socio-economically deprived areas of Limassol and Paphos.
Since April 2003, when travel restrictions across the demarcation line were eased, the influx of
Roma to the south increased; 570 οf the 1500 Roma living in Cyprus today (UNOPS, 2004)
reside in the south. Marsh and Strand (2003) argue that the real number of Roma in Cyprus
reaches 2000-3000 people, resulting from the annual influx of illegal Anatolian Romanlar. This
information cannot be confirmed, as the Republic of Cyprus does not hold official records on the
Roma (Agathokleous, 2005).
Several studies indicate that Roma in Cyprus have to a large extent been ignored, avoided
and kept on the margins of the local society (Demetriou & Trimikliniotis, 2007; Trimikliniotis,
2007), a fact mainly attributed to the dominant perceptions and knowledge about them
(Iacovidou, 2009). According to recent European Commission reports on social exclusion in
Cyprus, Roma are reported as one of the local social groups, which fall outside the social
networks (European Commission, 2005; Council of the European Union, 2006). Roma education
does not appear unproblematic either. According to the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus,
Roma pupils living at the south part of the country enrol in Greek-Cypriot schools, like any other
child at school age. Social services try to convince Roma families to urge their children to attend
and stay in school, while parents are presented with various incentives, such as uniforms, shoes,
school equipment (Agathokleous, 2005). As a result, the numbers of Turkish and Roma pupils in
Greek-Cypriot primary schools increased from 30 during 2000-2001, to 90 during 2003-04; of the
91 students enrolled during 2004-05, 29 were in Paphos and 62 in Limassol. Enrolment
exceeded 100 Roma pupils during 2008-2009.
Despite increased enrolment numbers, data on Roma students’ attainment and dropout rates
suggest that most Roma children end up almost illiterate (Demetriou & Trimikliniotis, 2007). Two
2003 studies showed that Roma parents in Limassol saw no reason to send their children to
school, as they understood nothing, they got into fights and felt excluded (HatzitheodoulouLoizidou & Symeou, 2003; Trimikliniotis, 2007). Serious problems with high drop-out levels and
the transition between primary and secondary school were also reported. Despite an official
policy of non-segregation, a study by Demetriou and Trimikliniotis (2007) reported a trend
towards Roma segregation in schools with high concentration of migrants, minorities and GreekCypriots from poorer backgrounds. Seemingly positive local measures intended to desegregate
Roma by dividing classes with a lot of Roma, coupled with provision of additional language
classes resulted in further marginalization of Roma students. The study indicated racial prejudice
towards the Roma, as well as negative attitudes of the Roma towards education, seen as an
unnecessary burden. The researchers pointed to the inadequacy of the school curricula, the
absence of relevant teacher training, language barriers and the overall failure of the system to
recognise Roma culture as factors predetermining the poor performance of Roma students.
Methodology
Data for this study was collected from the three schools, attended by the largest numbers of
Roma children in the Greek-Cypriot educational system. The first was an urban primary school,
situated in the west side of the city nearby the so-called ‘Turkish-Cypriot neighbourhood’; 116
pupils were enrolled, of which 44 were Turkish-Cypriots or Roma, 9 Turkish speaking, 57 Greek
Cypriots and the rest of other ethnic origin. The second was a lower secondary school, located at
close distance to the previous school with 230 students, of which 10 to 12 were Turkish-Cypriots
or Roma. The Turkish-Cypriots’ and Roma attendance was poor and usually interrupted during
the first grade (at the age of 12-13). The third, a rural primary school in a different educational
district operated with 336 pupils, out of which 69 were non-Greek-Cypriots and 6 were Roma;
Roma school attendance was reported as irregular.
All three schools exhibited similar 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. All three belonged to the Zones of Educational Priority
(ZEP), an institution introduced to the Cyprus educational system during the last five years to
upgrade cooperation with the local community and to improve communication between these
schools, between schools, parents and the local community and between schools and the
Ministry of Education.
In order to provide the basis for teacher training curriculum development on Roma educational
inclusion and following the selection of the participant schools, the research team proceeded with
a preliminary needs assessment of teachers, Roma parents and their children in these three
schools. In order to articulate needs with regards to Roma education, semi-structured interviews
were conducted with a sample of teachers, parents and children.
For the teacher interviews and to allow the development of discussion, group interviewing was
chosen (Cohen & Manion, 1994; Marshall & Rossman, 1995) against the limitation that
individuals often do not know enough about their areas of development to effectively analyse their
needs (Wray, 1989). Interviews with Roma- often treated in official studies and policy documents
as ‘hard to reach’ and ‘socially excluded’- also posed certain methodological concerns (Messing,
2008). In this case, due to the difficulty to reach the families in the community, contact with the
families involved the presence of a mediator, with whom families felt comfortable.
Teacher interviewees included four primary and four secondary school teachers: three of them
were younger than 30 years old, four between 31-40 years old and one over 41. All interviewed
teachers had Roma children in their classes; numbers ranging from 30-35% of the class
population to only a couple. The four parents interviewed were from 30 to 57 years old, were
both male and female Roma and had between three and five children in their families; they all
had their first child in their early twenties. All parents spoke Turkish; two were born in Cyprus and
the other two in Kurdistan. Out of the five Roma children interviewed, four attended primary
school (5, 9, 10, 11 years old) and one (18 years old) secondary school; four were male and one
female.
Interviews were transcribed while interview questions comprised the framework for the
qualitative analysis. Emerging themes took into account the context, the nature of the responses
and methodological considerations. The findings deriving by means of content analysis formed
the basis for particular variables (e.g. parent-teacher relations, needs, prejudices etc.). A
comparison between the outcomes of the interviews of the three groups underlined similarities as
well as differences in perceptions on the emerging themes.
Findings from the INSETRom needs assessment study
Teachers’ accounts
Absenteeism
All interviewed teachers pointed to Roma sporadic and unsystematic school attendance; Roma
children appeared to have more absences compared to other school children. The teachers
proposed several explanations for this phenomenon. Families would sometimes return to the
‘other side’ (north Cyprus, where Turkish-Cypriots live) to participate in religious festivals or get
involved in seasonal agricultural work (such as collecting fruits) or sometimes travel to European
countries (the United Kingdom, in particular) to take advantage of special financial allowances.
As teacher 1 mentioned:
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’).
Interestingly, daily school attendance maximized during school trips, despite an incident a couple
of years back, when one Roma student got killed during a school trip, which raised feelings of
insecurity among Roma parents. Roma children’s absenteeism also continued during secondary
school. A Home-Economics teacher indicated that “They come to school regularly but they do
not attend all their classes” while a Greek language/literature teacher, who had ten Roma pupils
in her class, pointed to irregular school attendance as natural since “these children belong to
families who frequently move from one place to another”.
The schools, in general, did not pursue the reasons behind Roma children´s ‘disappearance’.
However, some teachers described their job as overwhelming since sometimes Roma students
could ‘disappear’ or stay in the school yard to play even after school breaks while teachers were
asked to report on numbers of Roma students every one hour. These teachers complained that it
was hard for them to assume responsibility for students who tended to ‘escape’ school.
‘Disappearance’ tendencies were reported as improved, since, as the primary teachers of one of
the schools noted, now nearly one third of these children attended school on a daily basis.
Roma school attendance appeared better during lower primary school grades, compared to
higher grades. One teacher explained that: “…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…”.
Motivation
Teachers also mentioned problems with Roma students’ motivation, frequently attributed to
Roma culture: “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). Some teachers described Roma
pupils as having an intuitive liveliness, accompanied with hyperactivity and lack of attention which
was seen as cultural and transferred from generation to generation (“These tendencies are
transgenerational and exist inside them [...] These have to be smoothly transformed to something
positive”, teacher 5).
Problems with Roma student motivation also appeared to relate to Roma children’s lack of
various skills. Firstly, teachers regarded Roma children as having insufficient skills, necessary for
adjustment to school life (again related in teachers’ accounts to Roma culture): “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). Secondly, Roma children seemed to lack basic literacy skills. Teachers
thought of Roma students coming to school as ‘tabula rasa’ as they did not know how to read or
write, even in their own language. Thirdly, Roma children had serious problems with Greek -the
official school language- and these problems appeared to impact on both their oral
communication and written performance. Teachers described Roma children as less competent
than other pupils in the use of the language and as less able to learn Greek, compared to other
foreign language speaking children. Some respondents mentioned the presence of a Turkish
speaking teacher, who facilitated the communication with pupils and parents and the
development of afternoon programmes. At the same time, teachers suggested that Roma
students did not take full advantage of the supplementary educational support, offered to them by
the school. Although Roma students received extra hours for language (“Their time is divided in
thirds: one third for Turkish language support work, one third for Greek language support work,
and one third in the classroom”, teacher 5) this support was perceived by teachers as inadequate
in helping them overcome language problems. Finally, some teachers attributed Roma students’
illiteracy problems to children’s failure to engage in afternoon homework.
School adjustment
All teachers described Roma integration as an illusion: “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”.
According to teacher 3, Roma children stood out as different: “They only communicate with their
family members…. they form a clique against others….they feel to be treated as ‘them’ and
‘others’ ”. Teachers reported that in their behaviour towards Roma, other students reflected their
own families’ attitudes; some accepted diversity; others called Roma ‘Tourkoi’ (Turks) or
‘Killinjiroi’ (Gypsies). It is worth noting that, despite reported behaviors indicating prejudices,
teachers failed to refer to measures or initiatives against upcoming discrimination.
Teachers suggested a gap in their communication with Roma parents, which they attributed to
language barriers. The situation appeared better in the primary schools due to the appointment
of a Turkish speaking teacher and some translation of school material in Turkish. Teachers
suggested that Roma parents, concerned about their children’s safety, considered the school as
a secure place. Roma parents’ positive attitudes towards the school were also related to the role
of schools during the first years of Roma migration to the ‘Greek-Cypriot side’, as schools
functioned as ‘mediators’ in meeting families’ survival needs and opened the doors to social and
health services. Teachers referred to the introduction of courses for parents: “Mothers wanted to
stay close to their children, so we decided to offer classes on cosmetic care or pediatric issues”.
They further noted that over time parents had changed and now wanted their children to become
literate. The situation appeared different in the secondary school since these teachers pointed to
lack of communication with families, who “never came to the school”.
Since parents had a hard time understanding their own role in their children’s education;
teachers referred to “involving parents in the planning of a new curriculum adjusted to the Roma
pupils’ needs” as a beneficial measure, towards this direction. Teachers also underlined the
importance of the development of certain organizations, such as a local center for family guiding
and a community center for Roma population, set after one primary school’s recommendations to
the municipality. Teachers suggested the need for cooperation between all organizations
involved in Roma education and collaboration with the school. Teachers further noted that these
organizations collaborated with the school principal and the Turkish speaking teacher, but not
directly with the classroom teachers.
Teacher training needs
Most interviewed teachers reported no or limited background in intercultural education. Teachers
indicated lack of knowledge about legislative aspects concerning Roma education while their
perceptions of Roma culture related to Roma nomadism and disposition towards music, sports
and fighting:
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)
They like fighting and getting into conflicts. Once children get into conflicts, they
[the parents] come to ‘clear things up’. This is their favourite habit. (teacher 2).
A Home Economics teacher, who had two Roma children in one of her classes for a year (one
period per week) asserted that “I don’t know anything about the Roma culture apart from
information that I have found and read on my spare time. I do not really know if the Roma pupils
we have in this school live a nomadic life.” As one teacher suggested, their lack of background in
Roma culture and history, raised problems in understanding Roma students’ behaviour:
Once one of the female teachers got into conflict with a student, who threatened to
beat her up. I asked the student ‘Don’t I get angry with you as well?’ The student
answered ‘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)
Teachers raised the need for them to familiarize themselves with Roma history and culture.
Teachers 3 and 4 suggested that training should address their own personal inquiries on Roma
history and culture: “…to know about their history….from where they came…..how they appeared
in our country…..why they were not affiliated in the system….”.
At the same time, teachers indicated needs for training on effective management of classes
with Roma children. In these classes, teachers currently appeared to apply pedagogical
approaches resembling the traditional spectrum, despite reference to mixed-ability grouping and
individualistic instruction.
Teachers’ major concern, however, remained the clarification of aims and expectations with
regards to Roma education:
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)
My perception on Roma used to be purely based on theory. However, do I follow
their culture? Do I change them? Do I integrate them? (teacher 7)
Teachers suggested the need to assess what the Roma want from school and whether the
school can help them towards this direction, along with the need to adjust current teaching
material to Roma or design a new curriculum for Roma children and provide extra school time to
work with them.
Despite some school-based training on, for instance, conflict resolution, comments revolved
about training being insufficient in either depth or frequency and professional development being
a result of teachers’ own initiatives. One teacher complained that school teachers should have
received priority over their other colleagues in participating in seminars - of the Council of Europe
or other organizers- related to Roma education. Teachers added that the exchange of
experiences with teachers from other countries, who also work with Roma or other minorities,
would be valuable. As two teachers noted:
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)
In general, teachers appeared disappointed by the way the ‘special conditions’ of their schools
were dealt with by educational authorities. An attitude that ‘we do whatever we can’ prevailed
while teachers’ goals for Roma children appeared very basic: “I just want to help them move a
little bit forward. I try to keep them busy with material” (teacher 1). Teachers attributed any
progress with Roma students to their own personal efforts. Furthermore, they stressed that “it is
up to each teacher’s willingness to find ways to motivate them to come and stay in school”
(teacher 2), underlying teachers’ anxiety of not doing enough, perceived to be reinforced by
educational authorities.
Parents’ and children’s accounts
Background experience appeared to impact parental attitudes towards their children’s schooling:
parents who had themselves not gone to school did not insist to have their children finish school
while parents who had themselves attended schools, even for a while, held a more positive
stance towards schooling but thought that only teachers could help their children learn. Some
parents indicated frequent visits to the school to talk with the teacher about their children’s
progress and behaviour and to report bullying incidents. Although parents 1 and 2 suggested
that they visited the school to learn more from the teachers (“I would go to school in the afternoon
in order to learn how to help my children at home”; “I would go to school in the afternoon to know
more about the teachers”), parent 3 noted: “Yes I want them to be educated… No I can’t go to
school to learn how to help my children with homework because I have health problems”.
Parents in general were satisfied with the teachers: “Teachers think that children are good. I
do not know if teachers see our children differently.” (parent 1). Children also expressed positive
comments about teachers: “I like Ms Ch., she is funny, she is always happy and speaks to me in
the yard” (child 1) but were unable to indicate whether teachers would offer extra help, if asked
to.
Roma children interviewed suggested that they were sent to school spontaneously, out of
obligation, and not because of the family’s educational values/principles. Schooling, according to
the interviewed children, was considered as something in which one could engage in and
disengage from with ease: “I only went to school for a limited period of time, less than a year…
when we came to live here” (child 2).
Social isolation
The absence of Roma language at school appeared related to the absence of Roma cultural
aspects. All the parents asserted that their cultural background was completely unknown to the
teachers, which made them feel culturally ‘invisible’ within the school: “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). One mother stressed that “I want the school to know more about my
children. It will be good for the teacher to visit our home.” The children also expressed their wish
that their teachers knew more about their culture: “I would like my teachers to know more about
the way we live. We celebrate different things, we eat different food…” (child 1).
It is important to note that although interviews with Roma children took place during school
time, all children interviewed were at home. When asked, they replied that they were not feeling
well that day.
Not surprisingly, children reported limited learning in school. An 18-year-old Roma young
man suggested that during his schooling years, he didn’t learn much. When asked whether he is
still willing to learn, his reply was affirmative but when asked if he would go back to school, he
replied that he had a health problem: “No, I do not want to return to school, I have problems with
my eye.” Children tended to identify school with playing: “The Turkish-Cypriot play football and
with the computers at school and the Greek-Cypriots read.” (child 1). With regards to homework,
some children noted that they did not get any, while one Roma girl of Kurdish origin stated: “I
need some help at home… My teachers want me to do my homework”.
Language barriers
Parents referred to an assistant belonging to a community centre who helped them as a
mediator. The importance of having a Turkish speaking teacher at school as a mediator between
children, teachers and parents was greatly acknowledged. Children commented positively on the
presence of the two Turkish speaking teachers. The primary schools had such teachers but this
was not the case for the secondary schools:
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).
As such arrangements were not provided in the secondary school, the 18-year old interviewee
suggested: “If our teachers could speak to us in Turkish, I think I would have stayed in school”.
Interestingly, nearly all interviewed children were noticed by interviewers to have limited
understanding of the Greek language, despite reported long periods of living in the Greek
community. When asked how their school could have been better, almost all interviewed Roma
children referred to language.
In addition, a mother reported that her children had problems learning English (the second
language taught from Grade 4, when children reach approximately the age of 9) at school.
Learning English in a very competitive educational environment, where English is an essential
qualification, appeared to Roma parents as a basic difficulty affecting their children’s attainment.
Bullying
All parents in their interviews reported that the main problem their children had at school was
bullying by other children because of their children’s origin and cultural difference. Prejudices,
reflected in bullying incidents against Roma children at school, appeared to impact on Roma
children’s decision to abandon education: “Other children hit my children. My daughter has a
broken arm… My son was hit on his ear” (parent 3). One respondent, in particular, noted that:
“He [his son] was older than his classmates. They were making fun of him […] They called him
“Turk” […]; my girls went to school but did not finish because of the fights.”(parent 2). Such
accounts by parents bared negative emotional input such as anxiety and stress, which appeared
to threaten parents’ perceptions of their children’s safety and security at school.
Children noted problems of prejudice and contact with peers at school while suggesting that
the Turkish-Cypriot children were often involved in quarrels; fights were also presented as the
main reason behind interruption of schooling: “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). Some of the children attributed responsibility for the frequent fights at school
to teachers: “This teacher, he teases us and make us fight between each other...” (child 2).
Interestingly, all interviewees admitted that they had good Greek or Turkish friends at school
and in the neighbourhood with comments such as: “My best friend is Greek”, “I have friends. I
met them in the neighbourhood and they are Greek and Turkish”.
Analysis
The need for teacher training
According to the data above, despite the rhetoric around equality of opportunity and inclusion, the
implementation of egalitarian policies and the promotion of Roma schooling in the Greek-Cypriot
educational system remain highly problematic. As the cases of the three schools examined in
this study demonstrate, incentives on educational matters related to Roma education remain
rather limited. Teachers working in schools with Roma populations raise issues related to Roma
children’s motivation, absenteeism and school adjustment. In teachers’ accounts, within the
framework of the existing curriculum and teaching materials primarily designed for Greek-Cypriot
children, Turkish-speaking Roma children appear predestined for failure. At the same time, from
their part, Roma parents and children report bullying -along with a fight prone environment at
school- language difficulties and social isolation. Roma families also express their wish that their
teachers knew more about their culture.
In Kyuchukov’s (2000) words “…The Roma child arrives in a non-Roma world where
knowledge about life and society is presented in a totally different way. Roma children usually
have difficulties adapting to the educational processes that characterize a typical classroom.” (p.
274). The same seems to apply for Roma children in the Greek-Cypriot educational system.
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.
In addition, although teachers resume initiatives and experiences of teaching ethnically-mixed
classrooms, teachers’ accounts reflect inadequate training background and lack of specialized
knowledge on Roma education. Apparently, the recommendation of the Second ECRI Report on
Cyprus (2001), that all teachers are properly trained to teach in a multicultural environment and to
react to any manifestations of racism or discriminatory attitudes in schools, has not taken effect.
Consequently, within a rather vague framework for Roma education, schools (and teachers)
strive to become ‘more inclusive’ while ’the destructiveness of prejudice and the exclusion which
follows a denial of difference fail to be recognized.
The present situation underlines the need for a comprehensive teacher in-service training
programme, designed on the basis of the findings of this initial assessment. This need has been
acknowledged in other studies as well. It is worth mentioning that in a study on inclusion as a
process of recognising and minimising the barriers to learning and participation of all children,
Pecek et al. (2008) indicated that teachers -as the key players in implementing inclusion in
practice- needed to be trained and sensitized to Roma language and culture. Similarly,
Kyuchukov (2000) proposed anti-bias education provided for non-Roma teachers working with
Roma children to help them overcome their existing prejudices and racism. In addition, Trentin et
al. (2006) underlined teachers’ concerns about the difficulties of implementing integrated
schooling and reported a medium level of willingness towards integration, suggesting that
teachers with a favourable attitude towards Roma but without direct experience in integrated
schools significantly underestimated the burden of the added workload. Thus, specialized
training not only in multicultural or intercultural education, but particularly focused on Roma
culture along with training on how to methodologically address Roma education should be
urgently provided to Greek-Cypriot teachers having Roma children in their classrooms.
Considerations for teacher training
Teachers’ responses in this study, similarly to other studies (Craig et al., 1998), indicated the
need for forms of training directly linked to classroom practice and focused on the practical
domain. Teachers’ accounts reflected the need for tangible advice on resolving day-to-day real
class situations or directly related to Roma. In this regard, a training programme aiming to
enhance teachers’ understanding of Roma history and culture would enable them to respond to
the challenge of teaching in classrooms, where manifestations of discriminatory attitudes are
apparent and would significantly contribute towards Roma inclusion. In designing such training,
the data from the needs assessment could inform important contextual and methodological
directions. In particular, reported needs point towards training addressing curriculum
development, classroom management and teacher-parent communication.
Primarily, since the classroom curriculum and material appear destined for Greek-Cypriot
children, there is a need for teachers to tailor the curriculum to Roma children and reform
teaching material appropriately. This finding also emerged in the study by Pecek et al. (2008),
who indicated that teachers needed to adapt teaching methods and the curriculum to make the
school more interesting for Roma children. In this regard, training approaches could support
interventions in curriculum development, designed on the basis of teachers’ needs. Towards this
end, alternative means -suggested by Teasley (2005) in a critical ethnographic inquiry on
teachers’ responses to markedly increased student diversity at a Spanish school- such as action
research for producing professional commitments, more conducive to socially and culturally
responsive educational processes, could be considered. In fact, such ‘bottom-up’ input by
teachers could be generated and channelled to education authorities in sophisticated, visible,
reliable and structured ways.
In addition, teachers need to be trained in effective classroom management. In this study,
teachers appeared to be overwhelmed by the practicalities of dealing with Roma children and
suggested the need for training that would support them in managing ethically-diverse
classrooms. Teachers also appeared in need of ways to deal with the bullying problems,
reported by Roma families. It is not the first time that bulling and adjustment problems of Roma
children in school are reported in studies of Roma children in schools. Derringto (2007) identified
several ‘pull and push’ factors impacting on these children’s school engagement and retention,
the strongest being cultural dissonance -a result of conflicting expectations between home and
school- and social exclusion. Students who relied on maladaptive coping strategies, such as fight
(physical and verbal retaliation and non-compliance), flight (self-imposed exclusion) and playing
white (passing identity by concealing or denying one’s heritage), to deal with psychosocial stress
tended to drop out of school early, while those who displayed more adaptive strategies such as
cognitive re-framing, developing social support networks and adopting a bicultural identity tended
to stay in school up to the age of 16. Lloyd and Stead (2001) pointed that Roma/Traveller
children experienced frequent racist bullying and name calling, which were often not
acknowledged by the school. As similar problems emerge in Greek-Cypriot schools as well,
teachers should be able to not only acknowledge but also deal with such incidents. Thus, there is
a need to train teachers in mechanisms and provide them with supportive measures to minimize
conflicts in classrooms with Roma populations.
Finally, training should address the need for closer relationships between the schools and the
Roma community. The current study showed that social relationships between Roma and the
school or the wider community need strengthening; visiting Roma homes gave the impression
that Roma children live in complete isolation as they could not even use the Greek language.
Several studies have indicated that low Roma parental involvement, attributed to parents’ low
level of education, their perception that they will not be heard, or the lack of time and resources
can change very rapidly: if parents get the minimum support and explanation required through
outreach programs such as school mediators, their attitudes change rapidly. Community
participation has been the cornerstone of several successful projects, such as the ‘Learnery’
project (Messing, 2008) and the ‘Cambridge Project’ (Greenfields & Home, 2006), which report
on effective partnerships between schools and communities; Roma organizations and staff
provide appropriate intermediaries between non-Roma organizations and the Roma community
and often make excellent role models, which can show relatively closed communities that
integration does not necessarily mean losing one’s identity and exposing oneself to
discrimination. In this regard, projects need to be developed towards this direction. The families
can play a critical role as a source of knowledge, while parents’ stories can be an important
source for discussing the history of Roma, as well as their cultural and traditional values in the
classroom. Thus, teachers need to be training in community-oriented educational approaches
with high levels of community involvement.
Concluding remarks and recommendations
After centuries of exclusion and then segregation in separate schools, educational policy towards
Roma in Europe has been led to a reinterpretation of the idea of equality, departing from formal
egalitarianism and arriving at some form of multiculturalism. In the interest of a more inclusive
society, Roma are now being encouraged to strive for living standards comparable with those
enjoyed by the mainstream population; thus, focus is on denoting, full participation of Roma
children and parents in public education (Marc & Bercus, 2007). The situation is not different in
Cyprus either. In view of the increasingly multicultural character of the Cypriot society and
primarily negative views about several national groups including Roma (Hatzitheodoulou-Loizidou
& Symeou, 2003; 2007; Philippou 2004), it is time for more inclusive practices in Greek-Cypriot
schools as well.
The research outlined in this paper can contribute to a better understanding of what it takes to
facilitate enhanced Roma inclusion and participation in the schooling system. The study
suggests that Roma education poses certain challenges to school officials and practitioners, who
face the daily charge to integrate these children in the Greek-Cypriot educational system.
Teachers and administrators, however, are not prepared professionally or temperamentally to
meet the challenge and so the schools perform no miracles for Roma and their children.
Undoubtedly, teachers are 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.
At the same time, policy and research need to focus on a myriad of complimentary aspects
including, primarily, the clarification of aims on Roma education. The needs assessment study
has repeatedly pointed to the question as to the extent to which schooling, in its traditional form,
is appropriate for Roma needs. On the other site, it is doubtful whether Roma culture supports
the expressed aims of the Greek-Cypriot educational system. Thus, efforts should be
coordinated towards firstly a reconsideration of educational aims for Roma education and
secondly, the development of Roma values to make education seen as contributing to a better
life.
These issues should be addressed not only through programmes within schools but also
within more coordinated efforts involving bodies and individuals in the wider community. As Marc
and Bercus (2007) suggest, government policies and local programs on improving Roma
inclusion in education must work in coherence with each other: appropriate national policies must
be aligned with actions at the local level, ensuring at the same time adequate institutional and
financial means to allow implementation of such policies. Only through a comprehensive plan of
action, will the Greek-Cypriot educational system be able to cope with social exclusion, faced by
vulnerable groups of a different cultural background, like Roma.
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