Roma Teaching & Training

This project proposed by Action Synergy s.a. (Greece), a
consultancy developing knowledge-based applications in
the field of education, concentrates on pre-school education
for Roma children, to change perceptions and attitudes
that dissuade families to register their children at
pre-school. This problem may explain why their education
performance is comparatively lower than national average. The fact that Roma
children are not acquainted with the school environment tends to fuel their suspicions
and leads them to perceive the school world as a hostile environment where they
are not welcome.

Pre-schooling may be the key, though there are clear features of discrimination that
may be addressed along the way. The project develops and tests a model for the
organisation of pre-school centres, which are sensitive to Roma children’s cultural
background and which will prepare them integrate into the school environment later
on. The activities take into consideration the specific cultural background of the Roma
children under the supervision of two intercultural mediators, one Roma and one
non-Roma. These mediators receive proper training in the form of workshops and
e-learning courses, allowing for distance training. During the piloting phase, it is
envisaged that 80 children from the partner countries attend these pre-school centres
for six months. The organisation paradigm for such pre-school centres may later on
be transferred to other environments and the material for the training of intercultural
mediation is available online, free of use. The availability of these courses in such
a context may significantly increase the quality of pre-school education for Roma
children and thus contribute to the reduction of the number of early school leavers.

Coordinator: ACTION SYNERGY S.A, EL | Website: http://www.action.gr

Tel.: +30 2106822606 | E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Contact Person: Ms Anastasia Balaska

Site: http://romateaching.eu/

Source: Roma and Education: Challenges and Opportunities in the European Union

© European Union, 2012