Roma in an expanding Europe

1. Roma in an expanding Europe Improving Education Quality and Relevance A view from Serbia

2. Preliminary remarks on barriers • How to make policy in a vacuum • How to make policy in an information vacuum? • Population data 100-400 thousand • Privacy policy • Migrations, IDPs, repatriated (with language barriers) How to plan HRs, TT, facilities, financial resources?

3. How to make policy in a best practice vacuum? • Int’l – lack of comprehensive overviews, contextual underpinnings • Local – many excellent initiatives, successful projects, but lack of evaluation and monitoring • Vested interests, fragmentation of projects

4. How to make policy in a framework vacuum? In lack of a comprehensive social-cultural framework regarding: • Values (individual – communal) • Trust-building and bias • Communication styles, cognitive styles • Rights – diversity

5. 2. How to create consensus in a context of: • Lack of structures (fluctuation of stakeholders groups) • Lack of long-term commitments (NGO, government) • Lack of agency (who is representing the rights of the Roma children?) • Lack of voice (always interpretation) • Diverse educational needs of Roma children

6. 3.How to implement policy in a • Motivation vacuum (who is really willing? How is he/she positioned?) • Context of social distance (which always allows for dual interpretations and attribution biases) • Lack of resources (generally, and in view of other education reform priorities) • Institutional vacuum

7. Possibilities: • The education reform context is a fruitful context for rethinking Roma education policy: it creates new openings in the following respects

8. In 3 core areas which should be developed simultaneously: • Curriculum reform (flexibility, relevance) • Teacher training, teacher policy • Assessment, evaluation, enrollment policy

9. By decentralization • Local accountability for education • School autonomy • School development planning as a best practice in Serbia • Specialized adult education sites

10. through pilots, new solutions • Climate of change • Roma projects immersed in other projects • Civic education

11. Real dilemmas of Roma education quality are raised in a realistic manner • Separate or integrated schools • Start with preschool or University • Choice of VET schools planned or open • Strengthening extrinsic motivation through incentives or building intrinsic motivation

12. Support stipends or awards to develop achievement motivation • National or local policy • Education intervention (change values) or education facilitation (respect and include communal values)

13. Cannot do both by default, but can do both through a well designed action plan

14. 2. Roma education strategy Clear priorities in Serbia: • Access to preschool education (100% enrollment targeted for 2007) • Enrollment policy for all education levels (affirmative action, reorganization of enrollment to primary school from 2004) • 9 years compulsory education (first 9th grade 2006) • Flexible VET system (pilots from 2004, reorganized Vet from 2007) • School curriculum (1st grade 2003) • Teacher training for inclusive education (TT program accreditation, TT incentives – already active) • Teachers licensing from 2003 • Roma language and culture as optional subject (already active) • Anti-discriminatory school ethos (school rules by end of 2003) • Mandatory school development planning (from 2007) • New financial formula by 2005

15. 3. Well designed regional projects • Building upon school development planning (exchanges of experiences, students, teachers) • Heightening both national and local awareness • Creating action plans which are comparable and subject to evaluation and monitoring