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This introduction from Andrea Óhidy and Katalin R. Forray provides a brief overview of the social and education situation of European Roma and also about the structure of this book. Roma are here described as a ‘hidden minority’ (see the country study about Italy from Valeria Cavioni), because – although they are the largest minority group living in Europe for more than a hundred years – we still know very little about them. Although most of the Roma people have been living for centuries in European countries, their situation is still different from the non-Roma population; they often suffered from poverty and exclusion. There is a host of Roma, especially in Southern and in Eastern Europe, who is considered to be the most disadvantaged group in European societies, for example, regarding their (1) health situation, (2) on the labour and (3) on the housing market and (4) also in education. Questions of education are the central elements of politics making the situation of Roma better. To fulfil these requirements some European countries have taken determined steps. As Natascha Hofmann in the country study about Germany wrote, we are in the phase of the ‘dawn of learning’ because there are more and more policies and programs to develop attainment and success of Roma in European education and lifelong learning. This book gives an overview about retrospective and prospective tendencies in the situation of European Roma in education and lifelong learning.

This introduction from Katalin R. Forray and Andrea Óhidy provides a brief overview of the social and education situation of European Roma and also about the structure of this book.

Roma are here described as a ‘hidden minority’ (see the country study about Italy from Valeria Cavioni in the book Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Western and Southern Europe (2019)), because – although they are the largest minority group living in Europe for more than a hundred years – we still know very little about them. Although most of the Roma people have been living for centuries in European countries, their situation is still different from the non-Roma population; they often suffered from poverty and exclusion. There is a host of Roma, especially in Southern and in Eastern Europe, who is considered to be the most disadvantaged group in European societies; that is, regarding their (1) health situation, (2) on the labour, (3) on the housing market and (4) also in education. Questions of education are the central elements of politics making the situation of Roma better. To fulfil these requirements, some European countries have taken determined steps. As Natascha Hofmann in the country study about Germany wrote in the book Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Western and Southern Europe (2019), we are in the phase of the ‘dawn of learning’ because there are more and more policies and programmes to develop attainment and success of Roma in European education and lifelong learning. This book wants to change this and gives an overview about retrospective and prospective tendencies in the situation of European Roma in education and lifelong learning.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a resilience curriculum in early years and primary schools to enhance social inclusion, equity and social justice amongst European communities, particularly amongst disadvantaged and vulnerable ones, through quality education. It defines educational resilience in terms of academic, social and emotional growth in the face of life challenges; discusses the conceptual framework and key principles underpinning the curriculum; and presents the six major content areas of the curriculum. Finally, it presents the preliminary findings of a pilot project on the implementation of the curriculum in more than 200 classrooms in about 80 early and primary schools in six European countries.

The curriculum was first drafted collaboratively amongst the six partners on the basis of the existing literature in the promotion of resilience in early years and primary schools, with a particular focus to European realities. Once it was internally reviewed, it was piloted in 200 early years and primary school classrooms in six European countries, with each of the six partners implementing one theme. Data collection included teacher reflective diaries, classroom checklists, semi-structured interviews with teachers and focus groups with students.

The preliminary results from the pilot evaluation of the curriculum in 199 classrooms totalling 1,935 students across six countries indicate that both the teachers and the learners overwhelmingly found the curriculum highly enjoyable, useful, relevant and easy to use. They looked forward to the possibility of having the programme on a full-time basis as part of the general curriculum in the future. The teachers reported a positive moderate change in learners’ behaviour related to the theme implemented and argued that for the implementation to be effective, it needs to take place throughout the whole year. A number of modifications have been on the basis of the teachers’ and learners’ feedback.

This is the first resilience curriculum for early years and primary schools in Europe. While it seeks to address the needs of vulnerable children such as Roma children, immigrant and refugee children and children with individual educational needs, it does so within an assets-based, developmental, inclusive and culturally responsive approach, thus avoiding potential labelling and stigmatising, while promoting positive development and growth. It puts the onus on the classroom teacher, in collaboration with parents and other stakeholders, in implementing the curriculum in the classroom.

In this chapter, the author describes the education of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti (RSC) children in Italy focussing on possible pathways to school inclusion. According to available national reports, there are about 140,000 RSC people living in Italy, who the author calls a ‘hidden minority’. The author provides detailed information on their ethnic origins and traditions, describes their legal and social situation, culture and language. Then the author outlines the attainment of RSC in the Italian education system and the most important policies to support their successful education. In conclusion, the author presents selected programmes to promote social inclusion and education of RSC children.

In this chapter, the author provides an overview of some central issues of the book. First she shows the similarities in the challenges to increase the participation and success of Roma people in education and lifelong learning in the selected European countries; then she discusses their policies and support programmes, which on the one hand try to improve the social situation of the Roma while promoting minority language and culture on the other hand. The author finds the reason for their similarities regarding the wording, defining and communicating and also concerning the main ideas and concrete projects for possible solutions, in the Roma inclusion policy of the European Union in the frame of the Open Method of Coordination, which has been introduced within the Lisbon Strategy, linked to the idea of lifelong learning. She considers the realisation of these policy measures at national, regional and local levels to have shown only unsatisfactory results until now.