Chair: Christian Brüggemann, Nafsika Alexiadou

Persistent inequality and segregation of Roma pupils and students across Europe over several decades, has led to the development of a raft of European Union policies aiming to improve the education outcomes and experiences of the minority. Such policies have combined the use of structural and regional funds, anti-discrimination legislation, and soft coordination in education, amongst other areas of social policy. The EU has developed a Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (2011-2020), a Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation (2020-2030), and is now creating a European Education Area 2025 that includes a strong dimension of ‘rights’ and inclusion as well as a European Pillar of Social Rights. These policy initiatives aim to provide both a positive discourse around Roma inclusion and success in education, and a framework for concrete actions that member states are expected to take towards Roma integration. However, the positive effect of such policies on educational participation and success is questionable and researchers have pointed to various shortcomings, inconsistencies, and unintended consequences (Matache 2017; Rostas 2019, p. 148-169).

This symposium provides a comparative overview of developments in four European countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Spain) that explore discourses of inclusion in relation to Roma education, and different dimensions of national policies and programs. The four contributions relate their national cases to the EU framework for Roma integration, and raise questions for the conditions under which different policies are successful (or not). Even though the contributions focus on different initiatives in the four countries, they provide an important insight into the diverse approaches and interpretations of teachers, teacher educators, collectives and states when they mediate and translate transnational policies to the needs of particular local Roma communities.

Matache, M. (2017). Biased Elites, Unfit Policies: Reflections on the Lacunae of Roma Integration Strategies. European Review, 25(4), 588–607. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798717000254 Rostas, I. (2019). A Task for Sisyphus: Why Europe’s Roma Policies Fail. Central European University Press. https://doi.org/10.7829/9789633863190