Let’s know each other: Strategy for the Equity Inclusion of Roma Students Erasmus Project

Project Title

Let’s know each other: Strategy for the Equity Inclusion of Roma Students

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Romas and/or other minorities; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

The Europe 2020 strategy envisages reducing the early school leaver rate from 15% to fewer than 10% by 2020. Through the adoption of the Lisbon Strategy in 2000, the EU and its Member States equipped themselves with a framework to address poverty and deprivation. Specific attention was given to child poverty and child well-being, with some EU Member States setting explicit targets within set timeframes. More recently, the EU has proposed an ‘inclusive growth’ strand in the Europe 2020 Strategy. The accent on inclusion provides a further opportunity to adopt a comprehensive EU approach to achieving well-being for children, including the most marginalized such as the Roma.
The link between Early School Leaving and lack of parental engagement is well established through numerous studies and research work (e.g. Tackling Early School leaving from Education and Training in Europe, Euroice, EACEA, 2014). Children from poor families are unlikely to get support from their parents/carers and are at a higher risk of becoming early leavers. In some cases, like Roma community, parents are intimidated by the school system because of their negative educational experiences or because they were educated outside of the local system.
Within this scenario the project raises up from the need to improve the educational level and consequently life condition of the Roma: the project aims to help break down the barriers and attitudes that result in young Roma students dropping out of education and deny better career opportunities and it also enables parents to realise their own potential as advisors, educators and a resource for their children. It offers parents, schools and local authorities a range of possible methods for improving the outcomes for this group, in order to contribute to a stronger, more unified and better articulated inclusion of Roma students in EU education sector.
Two of the powerful tangible results reached by the Consortium during the project’s lifetime will be the tailormade guide about “Roma students’ inclusion: an effective interaction with Roma students and their parents” and the photographic exhibition about Roma traditions (it will take place in all the consortium’s countries). There will also be three Short-term joint staff training events, one in Bulgaria, one in Hungary, one in Portugal: “Evidence of possible inclusion”, “New Roma generations are growing: inequalities, resources”, “Roma and school: a difficult relationship”.
Running the project, in the end of it, we will be able to:
1. Establish relationships among European Roma and non Roma populations;
2. Improve the educational level and consequently life condition of the Roma;
3. Promote the value of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue as a tool to fight against social exclusion and marginalisation;
4. Transmit and raise the consciousness of the Roma families in relation to the importance of education as fundamental tool to achieve a better integration into societies;
5. Approach regional governments and NGOs to Roma educational issue;
6. Involve together Roma students and parents, regional and local authorities, stakeholders and NGOs.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 184484 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasio Zipariou & Country: EL

Project Partners

• CENTRO CONCERTADO BILINGÚE “LEONARDO DA VINCI”
• V.E.M. srls
• Testvérvárosok Baráti Egyesülete
• ICON Greece
• Szolnoki SZC Klapka György Technikum és Szakképző Iskola
• Vocational High School of Transport and Transport Management
• Agrupamento de Escolas de São João da Talha