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In this chapter the author outlines the educational situation for Roma in Norway, where there are two main groups of Romani-speaking people, referred to as Roma and Romani people, who have lived in Norway for centuries. Both have a status of national minorities. After describing the social situation of the Norwegian Roma minority, the author shows their culture and language. Then the author outlines the characteristics of the Norwegian education system and the educational attainment of Roma. After presenting the most important policies and support programmes for Roma Education, the author presents findings from her project ‘Educational Situation for Roma Pupils in Norway: Silenced Narratives on Schooling and Future’.

The given chapter of the monograph presents the distribution and diversity of the Romani community in Poland, their current social situation in reference to the period of socioeconomic changes in Poland as well as the results of research conducted by the authors regarding the education of young Romani in Poland.

The authors analysed a number of determinants (especially economic, social and cultural ones) that are important in the process of an effective dealing with a social exclusion, supporting integration and even an implementation of the education of Romani children. Bad financial situation and a cultural diversity cause integrative problems of the Romani in Polish society, as evidenced by the results of the authors’ research.

A sociometric study in Polish–Roma classes showed that Romani students are not accepted by their Polish classmates. However, despite both the educational and integrative difficulties, Romani students are more and more actively involved in a school life.

The chapter likewise incorporates an evaluation of the governmental programme aiming at equalisation of knowledge levels and opportunities between Poles and Romani in areas such as education, employment, health, hygiene, housing conditions and the ability to function in a civil society. The education thus became a priority area of the programme and the most important activity that was implemented under the given programme was creation of positions of a Romani assistant and a supporting teacher.

Progress, which has been achieved in Poland over the last dozen or so years as far as organisation of the Romani education is concerned, is indeed enormous. An implementation of the compulsory education by Romani students has become widespread and their attendance at classes is satisfactory. Although the attitude of the majority of Romani parents and their children towards the institution of school has changed, the contact between parents and the school is still limited. Both difficulties in the education and a low level of education of parents stimulate a reduction in educational aspirations on the part of Romani students.

The current condition of the organisation of the Romani education indicates that despite these positive initiatives, the Romani education is now in the early stage of its development and it requires further support and monitoring.

This paper aims to compare the health status of Roma in Europe and Aborigines in Australia, examining access to health care (both primary and long‐term), administrative and communication problems, environmental risks associated with location of residences, women's health, substance abuse and mental health.

The paper discusses issues generated by cultural practices by both health care providers and the target groups.

Both Roma and Australian Aborigines have significantly poorer health status than the majority of the societies they are embedded in, and are clearly amongst the most disadvantaged members of their respective societies. Nevertheless, affirmative action programs for Aboriginal people over the last 40 years have produced some significant changes, with Aboriginal doctors and nurses, and culturally appropriate service provision being found in many areas.

Although there are considerable similarities between the health status and situation of Romanies and Australian Aborigines, clearly, there are also substantive differences. The paper suggests possible culturally appropriate service provision for Roma, based on Australian Aboriginal experiences and models.

The purpose of this paper is to explore senses of powerlessness and empowerment among Romani in Ukraine in relation to such social circles as the extended family, the Romani local community and the whole Ukrainian society. The main research interest is focused on situations and factors that make people feel powerless or empowered.

The study was conducted using a semi-structured interview method via telephone. Romani NGO experts approved the interview content. Trained Roma-facilitators were interviewers. Every interview was transcribed for further thematic analysis.

The most prominent empowerment factors for Romani people are located within their families and local communities, while the bigger society (Ukrainians themselves and Ukrainian public institutions) is a main source of powerlessness. At the same time, the rigid role of family and community expectations is seen as detrimental for both males and females.

The paper is original in terms of its topic (senses of powerlessness and empowerment among Romani in Ukraine as social determinants of mental well-being) and research strategy (engagement of Roma-facilitators as interviewers).

Roma in Croatia are spatially, economically and politically marginalised. There is a social gap between Roma minority and the majority of population. Prejudice and stereotypes against the Roma community are deeply rooted in the mind of the local community due to their insufficient knowledge of the Roma culture. The women of the Roma ethnicity are doubly marginalised, because of their Roma ethnicity and their gender. Roma women, more than Roma men, lack the basic elements necessary for self-realisation: education, healthcare, cultural and political participation. Roma generally have poor access to healthcare, and most of them do not have medical records. The Roma in Croatia most often speak Boyash (bajaški) or Romani chib. They speak both their mother tongue (Romani) and the language of the country they live in – standard Croatian. Students can study the Romani language and culture in higher education, at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Teacher Education at the University of Zagreb. Kali Sara, the Roma Association for the promotion of the education of Roma in the Republic of Croatia, organises courses for Roma children and young people on the Romani language, culture and life in general. As for the educational attainment of Roma, data show that Roma children are still rarely included in the preschool education system. A large number of Roma children do not complete compulsory education. They rarely attend secondary school. Very small number of Roma students graduate at the Faculty level.

In this chapter, the author analyses the education situation of Sinti and Roma in Germany and calls for a ‘Dawn of Learning!’ The author asks: Who is learning (from whom and for whom)? What is learned? What has to be learned? To answer these questions firstly the author describes the social and legal situation of the Roma minority in Germany then analyses their attainment in the German education system. With the help of two studies (Hundsalz, 1982; Strauss, 2011) the author demonstrates that educational attainments of German Sinti and Roma had significantly increased over time. Then the author emphasises the importance of mentoring programmes – involving Sinti and Roma as educational mentors – especially for their important role in the integration process. Lastly, the author shows the results of her own study aimed at revealing correlations of education and integration opportunities of Roma youth, with or without a limited residence permit in Germany (Hofmann, 2011). The question: What has been learned – so far? The author answers as followed: A dawn of learning for mutual respect and appreciation can be seen. The question: What has to be learned? The author’s answer: she wishes for a common aim of our learning processes to be a conscious and respectful handling of diversity which allows differences but focuses on common ground as a starting point for social negotiation to shape the society in which we want to live – on regional, national and European grounds.

Izmir, the third largest city of Turkey, is an important trade hub and port. Since its early years, the city has been the home of many civilisations, nations and cultures. The Romani people can be counted among these cultures. In the centre of Izmir city, there are around 500,000 Romani inhabitants. The increasing number of migrants to Izmir and the obligatory settlement options, usually in poorer neighbourhoods, aggravates the situation. Within this context, the focus of administrative authorities on poorer neighbourhoods with a significant Romani majority and its effects to and connections with the urban improvement programme must be re-evaluated considering the benefit of the city and social-institutional support, including non-governmental institutions, must be maintained.

The purpose of this study is to characterize the social and cultural context of the social construction of mental health (MH) by members of Romani communities in Ukraine.

The research collected qualitative data to gain a better understanding of how Romani communities in Ukraine view the social and cultural factors influencing mental health. This paper analyzes data from focus groups in Romani communities in Ukraine (from six different oblasts) from February to March 2020. A total of 49 persons 19–75 years of age participated in the research, including 17 men and 32 women.

This study identifies four clusters of perceived social determinants of Romani mental health, these being employment, financial difficulties, level of education and discrimination. The findings indicate specific cultural characteristics of the Romani community that are seen as helping to support mental health. Family values, mutually supporting and referring to other members of the community are seen as especially important. Such social cohesion is believed to have a positive effect on the mental health of members of the Romani community. This paper discusses the implications of the study and suggests possible avenues for future data-driven policymaking in the area of mental health that take account of the culturally-specific meanings of mental health for these communities.

Given the significant gaps, shortages and, in some cases, complete lack of data on Romani ethnic and cross-cultural psychology, research is urgently needed to fill this gap. Lack of understandings of how Romani construct mental health can lead to badly-matched, misplaced or ineffective actions and distrust. This paper aims to support better understandings of Romani among MH service providers and enhancing the mutual engagement of Romani and MH services, supporting the broader agenda of social inclusion of Romani people.

In this chapter, Markéta Levínská, Dana Bittnerová and David Doubek show the situation of the Roma Minority in the Czech Republic. According to qualified estimates by regional coordinators for Roma minority affairs, a total of 245,800 Roma lived in Czechia in 2016, which represents 2.3% of the overall population in the Czech Republic. The Roma in the Czech Republic cannot be considered a homogeneous group, neither economically, nor regarding their social status. The authors describe the legal, social and cultural status of the Roma minority then analyse their attainment on different levels of the education system. After listing the most important policies and support programmes in the area of Roma education, they show current research results relating to the state of Roma education.

Key international and intergovernmental organizations assess the size of the Roma population in Serbia to be around 4–600.000, rendering Serbia among the five countries in Europe with the highest percentage of Roma population. Although Roma in Serbia have a long history of self-organization, cultural and media organizations, and are formally recognized as national minorities with a National Council of the Roma National Minority as a body with political decision-making influence, the Roma community in Serbia, as in most other European countries, is the most disadvantaged and underprivileged group in the country, often living in underdeveloped neighbourhoods with limited access to social services, especially education and health.

The educational attainment of the Roma population in Serbia, as in other countries in Europe, is far below the attainment of the general population. The education indicators are showing a developing trend, albeit slow. Roma integration policies evolved in Serbia from the early 2000s in the general policy framework of Equity of Education and Inclusive Education and a comprehensive education reform agenda, promoted and legally endorsed by the 2009 Law on the Foundations of the Education System. As the consequence of such an approach, the Roma integration policies intertwined and mutually reinforced with other reform policy areas. The most important post-2000 policies supporting the integration of Roma students into education are the introduction of pedagogical assistants in elementary schools and preschool institutions as a profession, paid from the budget, abolishing the system of school readiness assessment, introducing individual education plans and intensifying affirmative action and scholarships for enrolment in secondary and tertiary education.