Intercultural education and Roma in Croatia

Abstract

Since the beginning of their settlement in the 14th century, the Roma have formed an indigenous minority in Croatia, and also in the region as a whole. A specific tribal system (family, vitcha-extended family, big vitcha-family association, tribal group) and economic organization have caused dispersion, specialization and the partial loss of their national identity. The research project Genealogy and the Transfer Model of Interculturalism, through its empirical research on a stratified sample of secondary school students, focused on existing stereotypes towards the Roma. The results indicate a limited acceptance of the Roma culture (language, art, history, customs), as well as a considerable need to distance oneself from the Roma themselves (using a modified Bogardus scale). This points to the need for intercultural education for all pupils in Croatia. The implementation of an experimental Summer School for Roma children in Croatia and the Romany Educational Community represent innovative forms of education for Roma children. Together with the publication of the Roma newsletter Romano Akharipe, The Roma Voice and Nevo Drom (The New Way), these constitute the first steps towards the development of a Croatian educational model for the Roma. The creation of a specific educational system for the Roma plays an important role in the formation and structuralization of the Roma national community within the intercultural environment that exists in Croatia.