Teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and feelings towards pupils of Roma origin

What is it about?

In this paper, the focus is on schools’ responses to multiculturalism. We present a research project that was designed to explore feelings, perceptions and attitudes of teachers towards pupils of Roma origin in two different Greek schools. Our research strategy involved case studies and in-depth semi-structured interview was our main research technique. The findings suggest that there is a need to rethink and further investigate the issue of who is best suited to teach pupils of Roma origin in Greek schools. We believe that our research could help policy makers, educational administrators and teachers to better understand Roma pupils’ educational needs and plan ways to improve it.

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Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash

Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study has the potential to contribute to the establishment of policies targeting the improvement of the education that pupils of Roma origin receive. Α different and more effective policy would be one that could encourage Roma groups’ social integration initiatives (working, housing, medical conditions), revisit and adjust the school curriculum, promote cooperation of school – parents – local communities, and, provide teachers with the kind of education and training necessary to understand and deal with issues in multicultural classrooms, in order to focus on and meet the real needs of Roma pupils

Perspectives