Abstract
AbstractThe aim of our study is to present different kinds of obstacles that hindered the successful educational progress of our Roma university student interviewees from disadvantaged backgrounds. The theme is equality and equity, which is examined in the context of inclusion, empowerment, resilience and intersectionality (Varga, 2017), and to investigate their effect on positive power of performance, the positive psychological capital. Our research sample consists of the community members of the diverse Roma Student College of Pécs. The studied university students are considered resilient (Masten, Herbers, Cutuli, & Lafavor, 2008), as they have overcome the hardships of their family background and learn in higher education. Our study gives an analysis of 27 life-path interviews conducted in 2017. In these life-path interviews, we have found the external sources of resilience: supportive families, models of friends and siblings, and teachers' support as well. The intrinsic changes of personality have been prominent in the narratives, which could often balance out the negative effects with the positive psychological capital. The “building blocks” of this capital (Luthans et al., 2007) can be detected at common points in walk of life interviews, such as positive self-image, motivation, goal-orientation, and conscious planning. The positive role of the Roma Student College community appeared in their narratives as a strikingly relevant factor, from which we can assume that the shared development of different “capital types” results in investments in the interiorization process of individual members.
Highlights
The establishment of the Roma Student College Network1 was a key education policy for the betterment and empowerment of the Hungarian Roma (Forray ed., 2015)
In this study we examine the accumulation of capitals by the analysis of life path interviews
We have seen that the members of the Roma Student College, characterized by diversity, are resilient: they are achieving Higher Education, breaking through the difficulties of their family background and the effect of exclusive environments
Summary
The establishment of the Roma Student College Network was a key education policy for the betterment and empowerment of the Hungarian Roma (Forray ed., 2015). The network of 11 student colleges – funded by either Higher Education or Church – spreads across the country, supporting almost 300 disadvantaged, mainly Roma university students.. Former studies confirmed (Rayman & Varga, 2015) that accumulation and conversion of different capitals (cultural, social, positive psychological) is essential for a successful academic path. The establishment of Roma Student Colleges, their inclusion in the Higher Education Act and their prominent support indicates that it must create conditions conducive to real equal opportunity for students in order to compensate for injustices in society. The diverse service system of colleges promote inclusion with the aim of ensuring that students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds profit from the benefits offered by higher education (Trendl, 2015)
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