How a Positive Youth Development Framework Can Improve Lives of Excluded People

Abstract

Roma continue to face numerous challenges in Serbia, including disproportionately high rates of illiteracy and school dropout, poverty, unemployment, and discrimination. The Serbian government has pursued education policies relevant for Romani children and youth, but implementation efforts have not resulted in educational inclusion nor in raising the economic situation of the Roma citizens. This chapter presents participatory evaluation results of an alternative educational program in Belgrade, Serbia, that uses the positive youth development (PYD) framework to assist marginalized Roma youth to enroll in the mainstream educational system. This mixed-method study consisted of in-depth interviews with 80 respondents and an empirical analysis of an original survey of financial well-being used to assess the overall impact of the program. Perhaps most importantly, the voices of the real experts on poverty and educational needs—the Romani youth and their families who have experienced these realities—personally are brought forth. One important finding highlights the need for both education and labor market policies to be designed and implemented in concert with each other and taking into account the need of Roma youth to contribute to families’ total income. Mainstream compulsory education can inadvertently hurt the Roma family who, with no expectations of long-term returns on educational attainment, view their son’s or daughter’s time in school as a loss of essential family income. These realities—a policy mismatch between what Roma need and government’s inclusion efforts—are explored in depth in this chapter.