Roma Youth and Implementation of Roma Education Policies in Rural Romania

• In Event: Understudied Rural Populations

Abstract

This paper addresses state policy and educational provision for Roma youth in rural Romania. First providing an historical discussion of ethnic relations and state educational policy, we discuss two recent studies examining how national-level educational policies are enacted within rural settings. We find that non-Roma educators tend to frame understandings of Roma disadvantage and educational outcomes as a consequence of behaviors and cultural practices. School mediators, the majority of whom were of Roma ethnicity, tend to frame their understandings of Roma student outcomes as a consequence of structural disadvantage. The study suggests that “culture of poverty” perspectives held by educators constitutes an important element in reproducing disadvantage and exclusion for Roma students in these rural settings.

Authors

• Kai A. Schafft, The Pennsylvania State University

• Codrina Csesznek, University of Transilvania