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 Greek-Cypriot 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 non-segregation 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 marginalizedin 21st century Europe (Cretan & Turnock, 2008). The reproduction of Roma disadvantaged living circumstances is often attributed to lack ofeducational 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 currentpaperfocuses on the role of in-service 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 familiesin three Greek-Cypriot schools, undertaken within the framework of the European Union funded project INSETRom (IN-SErvice Training for Roma Inclusion, 134018-LLP-1-2007-1-CY-COMENIUS-CMP).
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 1999and 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; 570οf 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 servicestry 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 (Hatzitheodoulou-Loizidou & Symeou, 2003; Trimikliniotis, 2007). Serious problems with high drop-outlevels 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) reporteda trend towards Roma segregation in schools with high concentration of migrants, minorities and Greek-Cypriots 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 yearsto 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 andto 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 toRoma 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. Familieswould sometimesreturn 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 toirregular school attendance as natural since “these children belongto 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 werereported 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 appearedbetter 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 problemsappeared 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 tochildren’s failure to engage inafternoon 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 toteacher 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.