Do Roma Parents' Views of Their Children's Learning Problems Align With Special Education Overrepresentation?

• In Event: 30.063 - Multicultural/Multiethnic Education: Exploring Learning Environments and Student Outcomes

Abstract

Roma have been described as the most hated minority in Europe. Particularly in Southeastern Europe (SEE), this bias is reflected in how Roma children are treated and segregated in schools. Anecdotal evidence shows that Roma parents may give permission for their children to be included in segregated programs in order to benefit from payments, food and other compensations. In this analysis of parent survey data from ten SEE countries, with oversampling of the Roma minority, we found that Roma parents were no more likely to report that their children had learning problems than non-Roma parents. Instead, books in the home was the strongest predictor of whether parents in either groups reported that their children had learning problems.

Authors

• Bob Ives, University of Nevada - Reno

• Brian Lee, University of Nevada - Reno