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Diversity is the wealth of Montenegro. It is a comparative advantage that provides an exceptional opportunity for understanding and tolerance. It encourages citizens to dialogue, get to know each other and get closer and not to misunderstand, confront and divide society. Any attempt to explore and consider the position of the minority national and ethnic groups in a given social reality is a very specific problem. The best indicator of democracy and tolerance achieved by the social system in a country is the attitude towards its minorities. It is reflected in the majority population's ability to exist under the conditions of tolerating and respecting minorities and their rights. In that sense, the question of the actual (not only constitutional) position of the minorities is an issue of the majority community just as it is a specific mirror of its achieved level of tolerance, emancipation and culture of living. It is especially interesting to explore those national and ethnic minorities with no ‘mother country’, that is, ‘no one to stand up for them’. The Roma population is one of these. It should be kept in mind that its position, regardless of the state in question, is complex and faces various problems.

In order to significantly improve the overall position of the Roma population in Montenegro, it is necessary to improve the socio-economic status of this group. The best way to do such a thing is through the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, as well as the promotion of Roma's identity and cultural heritage. The poor socio-economic status of Roma in Montenegro is a consequence of their inability to be employed. They are not employed because they are not formally educated or do not have a significant level of institutional education. So it is a vicious circle in which the Roma are spinning unsuccessfully to resolve, at least somewhat decently, their socio-economic position. The educational situation of the Roma population in Montenegro is significantly better at the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, but still not nearly satisfactory in the way how that members of this population successfully participate in finding and getting a job. Therefore, through mutual communication between Roma and other social actors in Montenegro, it is necessary to raise awareness and strengthen the capacity of Roma about the importance of education and the connection of this segment of society with their employment. This leads to the improvement of the overall position of the Roma population in Montenegrin society, as well as the building of an inclusive and open society, a society of equality and justice and equal opportunities for all residents to access educational institutions at various levels and other legal and social structures.

In this chapter, Andrea Óhidy discusses some pivotal issues of the book. Firstly, she shows the common challenges for current and future EU-member states to increase the participation and success of Roma people in education and lifelong learning. Then she discusses policy strategies and measures for Roma Inclusion in the Western Balkan states Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. They try to improve the social situation of Roma people but also to promote minority languages and cultures. She found the main cause of the similarities concerning the strategies and concrete projects for possible solutions in the adaptation of the EU Roma inclusion policy in the Western Balkan states as part of their negotiations for EU membership. She considers the implementation of these policy measures and also the educational attainment and success of Roma in the Western Balkans unsatisfactory.

This introduction from Andrea Óhidy and Katalin R. Forray provides a brief overview of the social and educational situation of Roma in the Western Balkan region and the structure of this book. Like in the books Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Central and Eastern Europe (2019) and Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Western and Southern Europe (2020), Roma are here described as a ‘hidden minority’ (Cavioni, 2020, p. 68), because despite the great number and the century-long history of Roma people on the European continent, there is still only limited information and knowledge about them, both in public awareness and scientific research. Although most members of the Roma minority have been living for centuries in their European home countries, their situation is still different from the non-Roma populations: They often suffer from socio-economic disadvantages and hate-motivated harassment and discrimination (EU-FRA, 2020a). This is not only the case in the member-states of the European Union but also in the Western Balkan region. All across Europe, there are Roma groups, which are considered to be the most disadvantaged minority, regarding their health, employment and housing and also in education. To increase their situation, European Union member states have developed common strategies, which play a part in negotiations for an EU-membership status. The so-called Western Balkan states – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – might join the European Union in the coming years. The social inclusion of the Roma minority and the protection of their minority rights in these countries were formulated as a precondition for their application for EU membership. Therefore, several goals, policies and measures were implemented there to break the ‘vicious circle of poverty and discrimination’ (EU-FRA, 2020b). Participation in education and lifelong learning have become central elements of these political measures for Roma Inclusion. This book examines the education situation of Roma across the so-called Western Balkan region.

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.

Today's structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established in 1995 following the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in Paris. According to its Constitution, the Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a decentralized state consisting of two entities (the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the Brčko District, three constituent peoples Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and the Others as well as all other citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The term ‘Others’ refers mainly to the national minorities and in total, there are 17 different national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation comprises 10 cantons, all of which have legislative, executive and judiciary powers.

Relevant governmental and non-governmental agencies and bodies, as well as different international organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, agree that Roma, as the largest national minority, has been living in the worst socio-economic situation compared to all other national minorities. This is especially the case in housing, employment, health care and, in particular, education.

Bosnia and Herzegovina signed relevant international documents to protect the rights of national minorities and adopted relevant laws on the protection of national minorities. Furthermore, since the state has ambitions to become a member of the European Union, it accepted the Declaration of the Western Balkans Partners on Roma integration within the EU enlargement process and plans and activities have been initiated to improve the overall situation of Roma, particularly in the area of education.

Albania's commitment to safeguard and protect Roma minority rights, and integrate this community in society is expressed in its regular broad-based efforts and continuous policy dialogue to adopt its domestic legislation to find durable solutions to expand social coexistence. Its valuable contribution to shape diversity at local and national level combined with the fight against discrimination has fostered the development of national strategies on Roma minority inclusion and encouraged the implementation of various action plans to deconstruct prejudicial structures and stereotypes. Jointly sharing responsibility with various Roma and non-Roma civil society organizations through a cooperation model, the Albanian government has supported socio-economic empowerment of the Roma minority and promoted its equal access to education, health care, housing and employment. In line with the European Union enlargement process, Albania adopted Poznan Declaration setting clear goals to achieve full integration of this community.

Despite various efforts made to reduce the gap between the Roma and the Albanian population, limited progress has been achieved in the social inclusion of the Roma minority. In general, the institutional capacity to coordinate Roma-related policies is weak. Low socio-economic standards of this community including the lack of digital skills to unlock individual opportunities, segregation in schools, low health insurance coverage and poor access to technology hinder the acceleration of its inclusion (European Commission, 2022, pp. 36–37). This chapter will be mainly focused on education of Roma children in Albania highlighting some of the challenges they face and indicating some positive models to address them at local level.

This chapter delves into the education of Kosovo's Roma community, shining a light on the obstacles they encounter and the initiatives taken by the government to enhance their educational prospects. The Roma community represents just 0.5% of Kosovo's entire population and faces significant challenges with low literacy rates and high dropout rates, particularly at lower levels of education. Since Kosovo's independence proclamation in 2008, there have been institutional advancements and partnerships with local, central, and worldwide organisations to improve the education system for the Roma community.

This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the educational situation of the Roma community in Kosovo. It recognises their challenges and proposes practical solutions to accelerate their integration and improve their social, educational, and cultural welfare. Various analytical methods, including descriptive statistics and historical analysis, are utilised to conduct comparative and quantitative assessments.

The Roma community in Kosovo continues to encounter numerous challenges, such as economic hardships, lack of education opportunities, and early marriages that often result in school dropouts. However, research highlights the government's dedication to enhancing education conditions and enabling better access to the labour market for the Roma community through proper education and qualifications. Additionally, Kosovo's constitutional and legal framework safeguards the rights of all communities, including the Roma community, regarding education and employment with high standards.

The present study provides insight on Roma students' understandings and experiences during their participation in a learning program under the aegis of Future Literacy Approaches and reports on the range of cognitive and social skills which can be cultivated through such literacy experiences. A case study research design was applied with an after-school evening class attended by 12 Roma students in a region of Greece. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data indicates that Roma students' engagement in the Future Literacy tasks of the program strengthened the acquisition of skills that could be useful for their daily lives, including the capacity to construct their own representations of daily life, and finding creative solutions to real-life situations. Activities provided students with the space and time to express their aspirations for self-empowerment and changed life conditions in the future. Findings provide one way to address the urgent need for Roma to challenge marginalization through leveraging their own active roles as citizens.

This paper aims to explore the prevalence of depression, anxiety symptoms and suicidal ideation among the Romani population in Ukraine and their connections with various social health determinants: age, gender, household characteristics, employment and living conditions.

For measuring mental health conditions, GAD-7 and PHQ-9 were used. Individual interviews were conducted by trained volunteers of the International Charitable Organization “Roma Women’s Foundation Chirikli”. Data were gathered from January to March 2020.

The overall level of depression found in the sample was 8.08, while the mean for anxiety was 7.22. In general, 32.7% of respondents scored positively for signs of depression and 29.6% for anxiety. The two-week prevalence of suicidal ideations was 26.9%. Compared to the general population, the prevalence of depression among the Romani research participants was twofold higher, and anxiety was 2.5-fold higher. Signs of depression and anxiety in women were significantly higher (36% vs 28.6% for depression and 33.9% vs 24.2% for anxiety) than in men. Signs of depression and anxiety were higher for people without education than for university students (9.32 vs 3.04 for depression and 8.26 vs 3.00 for anxiety). The lowest levels of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation were among officially married persons (6.61, 6.36 and 0.23, respectively). Significant small positive correlations were found between all measurements and the number of household members (0.149 for depression, 0.124 for suicidal ideation and 0.175 for anxiety; p < 0.001) and the number of children (0.303 for depression, 0.224 for suicidal ideation and 0.243 for anxiety; p < 0.001). In terms of employment, the highest scores for depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation were found among those who are employed seasonally (9.06, 8.25 and 0.61) or irregularly (9.09, 8.12 and 0.57) in contrast with self-employed (4.88, 4.90 and 0.19) and full-time employees (5.86, 5.51 and 0.18). Living place (city, village or camp) showed no relation with mental health, except for suicidal ideation: those living in villages had higher levels of suicidal ideation than those living in cities (0.49 vs 0.31).

The study has some limitations. Data were gathered from January to March 2020, and since then, the situation in Ukraine has drastically changed due to the full-scale Russian invasion. While this study’s data and conclusions might serve as a baseline for further research, they do not represent the real-time situation. While many social factors were analysed, the effects found for them do not necessarily represent causality, given the statistical methods used. Interactions among factors were not studied; therefore, no firm conclusions can be made about the effects of those interactions on mental health.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is original in terms of its topic, as the first-ever in Ukraine quantitative study of mental health and social determinants of mental health of the Romani population.

The purpose of this article’s research was threefold. Firstly, it aimed to investigate how social services professionals coped during the pandemic period by comparing their involvement in five different national contexts. Secondly, it analysed how these professionals have performed their duties according to the street-level bureaucracy theory. Finally, the third question examines social workers' strategies to guide their professional role when they may have had more discretion in their actions. The research also examined whether discretion has increased during this phase and, if so, how it has been exercised.

This article is based on the findings of the project called “Theory and Practice of Social Work in the World in Times of Pandemic”, which was funded by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). The project involved 11 universities across five countries in Europe and Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Sweden. The research was conducted over 24 months to analyse the practices and measures taken to protect vulnerable people by adapting social services during the extraordinary period of the pandemic. In addition, the research explored how the awareness of emergency arose among social workers and how it influenced the services delivered from the perspective of the street-level bureaucracy theory. In different countries, the level of resourcefulness of services has varied based on their recognition of the severity of the pandemic and the impact of the government’s narratives. In some cases, these narratives have been conspiratorial or even anti-scientific. Additionally, there has been a reduction in the distance between professionals and clients, increased inequalities in access to services and a positive reassessment of the potential of new professional tools, such as digital social work, in establishing a trusting relationship.

As revealed in the interviews, the elements shaping this high degree of discretion among social workers can be classified into three levels: macro- and micro- (Saruis, 2015) plus a meso-level. Each level has four significant aspects. At the macro-level, these are legislation, public information, large associationism and integration of the social services-health system. At the meso-level, these are interpretations of role performance by managers technical equipment, self-organization and community action. The micro-level pertains to personal and family situations, emotions, ethics and social workers' direct relationships with those in charge.

This study investigated how social workers responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. The data gathered sheds light on their understanding of the situation, as well as the differences in experiences across the five countries studied. However, it is essential to note that the findings may not apply to all situations or countries. Nevertheless, this research serves as a stepping stone for future studies to delve deeper into the results and explore them in greater detail .

The study highlights the crucial role of social workers as street-level workers in managing, negotiating and creating meaning in the interaction between professionals and the people they serve. This is especially relevant in Latin America. Additionally, the study emphasizes the significance of social workers as policy actors and the political nature of social work practice. The findings also underscore the importance of effective communication and collaboration between social workers, their teams and the organizations they work for. The sources cited in the study are Barberis and Boccagni (2014) and Cuadra and Staaf (2014). The research has also underscored the potential of social service workers to build networks and cooperate. Such networking can play a vital role in implementing their acquired knowledge. The study has, therefore, emphasized the importance of social workers being an integral part of the societies they serve. They need to continuously enhance their communication skills, using all the necessary tools to gain a comprehensive and updated understanding of the evolving needs of their clients. Integrating digital social work as a mode of service provision has emerged as a crucial aspect, especially in the three European countries observed. This approach has demonstrated its potential and is expected to continue being a part of services to some extent, even after the return to normalcy. However, it is essential to ensure that the accessibility and proximity of services are not compromised in any way.

An unexpected result was observed during the research: the pandemic circumstances have led to valuable reflections. These reflections can help in rethinking and recreating social services. Social workers have been given a unique opportunity to return to the essence of their profession and develop less bureaucratic and more humane ways of working. This experience has also enabled them to recover a closer relationship with the people they serve. To sum up, this study emphasizes that social workers, when given more leeway in their work, rely on cultivating and upholding relationships with other professionals, organizations and stakeholders to stay connected with the community they serve. This is crucial for ensuring the delivery of effective and sustainable social services.

The research employed a thematic analysis approach (Bazeley, 2007) to identify themes related to the concept of consciousness as derived from the field experiences of social workers. Additionally, an in-case and cross-case analysis method (Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006) was used to connect themes related to individual experiences with those gathered from the overall experiences.