Gypsy childrens language socialization and its effects on school failures in Hungary

Ibolya Czibere

doi:10.24297/jssr.v5i1.3333

Abstract

Low educational attainment, early truancy from school and separated education in school (segregation) of Gypsies and their poor academic career count to be a tradition in the Hungarian education system. Mainly due to this and the lack of marketable skills, the active Gypsy inhabitants became the biggest loser of the political transformation and they were excluded from the labour market after introducing market economy, additionally, they fell behind hopelessly and became unemployed permanently. The study represents all the language socialization difficulties that are usually presenting since early childhood and produce the early school failures in early childhood, furthermore, they contribute early dropping out of school or hinder their secondary school education thereby contributing to the continuous reproduction of the disadvantages in labour market and to the maintenance of social exclusion.

Highlights

The real losers of the political transformation are the Roma people
It is a social-psychological fact that if a certain minority life form is permanent within the society, its consequences will be permanent too
In case of Hungarian Gypsies the classic symptoms appear uniquely in this process. This minority does not rebel against the discrimination that they need to face for centuries

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The real losers of the political transformation are the Roma people. During the past hundred year history, the Gypsy people lost their financial basis the second time by the political transformation. The school should acknowledge that most of the gypsy children go this socialization phase through when they start school, so the school should not assume that they can build on these from the beginning; secondly, the socialization process may take place in the existing cultural base since gypsy children cannot be successful if they exclude their own culture; thirdly, the starting pint should be: “this is not a culture that be placed into two hierarchy, i.e. the Roma culture could not be subordinated to the mainstream society, because there are two equal norm and value system, which are developed in order to solve certain problems of social groups so they cannot be compared but placed next to each other.” (Nalhalka nd.12) MiklósKontra, the linquistic, has similar view; according to him, the right to education is fundamental human right, so no one can be limited to their rights based on linguistic, because “who puts languages into hierarchy, that put people in hierarchy”. The school should acknowledge that most of the gypsy children go this socialization phase through when they start school, so the school should not assume that they can build on these from the beginning; secondly, the socialization process may take place in the existing cultural base since gypsy children cannot be successful if they exclude their own culture; thirdly, the starting pint should be: “this is not a culture that be placed into two hierarchy, i.e. the Roma culture could not be subordinated to the mainstream society, because there are two equal norm and value system, which are developed in order to solve certain problems of social groups so they cannot be compared but placed next to each other.” (Nalhalka nd.12) MiklósKontra, the linquistic, has similar view; according to him, the right to education is fundamental human right, so no one can be limited to their rights based on linguistic, because “who puts languages into hierarchy, that put people in hierarchy”. (Kontra 2005: 8)

CONCLUSION

Findings

Forray