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Perceptions of University Students on the Role of Roma Student Societies in Higher Education
97-114Views:267As a result of the expansion of higher education, the student population is becoming more diversified, with students who are the first in their families and communities to undertake a university degree. Minorities defined as Roma have been an integral part of Europe since the Middle Ages, but their educational attainment lags behind the general population, and they are still under-represented in higher education. The study analyses the perceptions of mostly Roma students who are on the path of social mobility in their formal education and the non-formal community (Roma student societies) that provides targeted support for their academic progress. The study involved the members of the network of Roma student societies in Hungarian universities in questionnaire format research (N=300, n=182). In this study, the implicit ideas of the participants about the university and the Roma student societies are inquired into, exploring the similarities and differences in the function of the two institutions, and analysing the role of the Roma student society in social mobility. The data were processed using a qualitative analysis strategy, thematic coding. The results shed light on the functions of the university, which is a formal space, and the Roma student society, which is a non-formal socialization space. The university was associated with formal learning and socialisation, while the Roma student society was associated with experiential, action-oriented, non-formal space. The respondents perceived the university, but especially the student society, as a positive experience. Our study reveals the perceptions of the pedagogical programme of the Roma student societies. The Roma student society is compared to the relationships experienced in a family; the Roma student society is seen as a continuum of the sense of security provided by the family. Through the responses of Roma students, this study highlights that non-formal small communities in universities are effective means for the successful advancement of underrepresented groups in higher education, which supports a positive experience of their mobility.
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STUDENTS FROM ROMA COLLEGES FOR ADVANCED STUDIES IN HAJDÚ-BIHAR COUNTY
41-60Views:497The main objective of the paper is to present students who are members of those kinds of Roma Colleges for Advanced Studies which headquarters can be found in Debrecen. The frame of the study is in connection with research that has been carried out in 2019 and dealt with three Colleges for Advanced Studies with 62 students. The relevance of the topic is given by the fact that by comparing Roma and non-Roma students’ ratio in tertiary education, we can recognize the phenomenon that the proportion of Roma students is still lower. We sought an answer to the question of what factors helped Roma students to achieve success in school. The research questionnaire assessed students’ socio-cultural background, learning motivation, high school experiences, and the ethnic patterns of networks. The theoretical framework of the empirical results is the outcome of the sociological researches that focus on Hungarian Roma children’s educational situation. These were supplemented by the description of the development programs. In the course of analysis, we compare the obtained data with the database of the Hungarian Youth 2016, as a consequence that, we get an idea of the groups of Roma youth for whom tertiary education has become available. One of our research targets includes the comparison of students with or without Roma identity.
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ROMA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' IDEAS ON THE CHOICE OF PARTNERS:
Views:476Finding the right partner can improve the individual’s financial situation, help him/her achieve his/her goals, and support his/her mental health. It may also have an impact on the integration of Roma partners into the majority of society. Roma young people studying in higher education may have different options of choosing a partner than their (Roma) lower-educated peers. The cost of further education is often the lack of early marriage, which is common in the traditional Roma community, while the benefit can be the development of a wider network of contacts by getting to know university colleagues. In our research, we examined the choice of a partner of a special group of Roma university students, the Roma college students concerning their ideas about this and their practical implementation. The study is based on the EVS (European Value Survey) questionnaire on relationships filled in by the respondents and structured life path interviews (N=186). Based on the survey, the college students included in the study did not consider the origin of their partner to be relevant, while in practice they preferred a similar partner related to the origin and education. The Roma college can also function as a field for choosing partners, and many of the students have chosen their partners from here. In Roma colleges, students are placed in a peer community that supports them through further education. Among their peers, they can even find a partner who is similar to them not only in his/her origin but also in his/her education.
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COOPERATION OF ROMA COLLEGES FOR ADVANCED STUDIES IN HAJDÚ-BIHAR COUNTY WITH SECONDARY SCHOOLS
27-41Views:267The main objective of the paper is to present students who are members of those kinds of Roma Colleges for Advanced Studies which headquarters can be found in Debrecen. This is framed by a 2019 research that consisted of three parts. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey of the students of the three Roma Colleges for Advanced Studies operating in Hajdú Bihar county, an interview with the leaders of the three Colleges for Advanced Studies, and concerning the student questionnaire survey, we visited the high schools from which two or more students came to the Colleges for Advanced Studies, as such interviews were carried out with nine school principals and six mayors. In this study, we present interviews conducted by the school principals. Where it is possible, we rely on the responses received in each part of the research – we compare and analyze them. We primarily sought the answer to the question of how Roma Colleges for Advanced Studies help Roma students to be admitted in tertiary education. Based on the answers received, it can be claimed that the Colleges strive to keep in touch with the secondary schools, and in some cases, they involve students and their teachers in the programs organized by them. There is no program that specifically aims to help secondary students concerning the admission of tertiary education The Colleges for Advanced Studies help roma students mainly by providing information. They try to dispense the information through the personal involvement of the students.
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Educational Policy Responses to Support Roma Students
113-121Views:139This study examines Hungarian educational policy measures implemented between 2015 and 2025 to improve the academic success of Roma students. Education is viewed not only as a means of knowledge transmission but as a key driver of social mobility and equality. Roma students face complex challenges rooted in social disadvantage, cultural differences, and systemic issues such as segregation and institutional discrimination. The paper provides an overview of major interventions, including compulsory early childhood education, the Complex Instruction Programme (CIP), community-based tanoda initiatives, the Útravaló Scholarship Programme, and Roma Special Colleges. While these programmes have yielded positive local outcomes—such as improved cooperation, reduced dropout rates, and enhanced access to higher education—their long-term impact is limited by underfunding, project-based approaches, and lack of systemic integration. The study adopts a critical perspective, highlighting the need for sustainable strategies, teacher training in inclusive pedagogy, community involvement, and comprehensive monitoring systems. Recommendations include strengthening teacher education, promoting integrated social support, and ensuring Roma participation in decision-making. The findings underscore that only systemic, long-term measures can effectively reduce educational inequalities and foster genuine social inclusion for Roma communities.
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ROMA COLLEGES FOR ADVANCED STUDIES NETWORK IN HUNGARY
7-15Views:579Roma colleges for advanced studies network in Hungary is a unique chain of institutions for helping those students’ integration into the system of higher education whose sociocultural background might be characterized by deprivation. Recent study analyses the history as well as the networking process of Roma colleges and the paper endeavours to interpret the features of collegiate students’ dwelling-places. In the second part, the author deals with the significance of Roma collegiate students’ fields of study related to the debate coursing on the integration policy of marginalized and peripheral local ethnic communities in Hungary.
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CHARACTERSITICS OF ROMA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BASED ON SAMPLES FROM ROMA COLLEGES FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
43-59Views:387The study intends to present in a comparative manner the research conducted at the University of Pécs and the Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, which focuses on the family background, identity, school-related successes and failures of Roma students studying in tertiary education. The research was supplemented with information collected from the students of the Lippai Balázs Roma College for Advanced Studies at the University of Debrecen Faculty of Education for Children and Special Educational Needs.
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THE ISSUE OF FAILURE OF ROMA STUDENTS AT SCHOOL
95-102Views:437The phenomenon can be encountered day by day that at primary schools there are just a few Roma children among well-performing students, while among students who fail in fulfilling the requirements there are a great amount of Roma pupils. The question may come to the surface intuitively: What are the reasons behind that? The paper aims to discover and explain this problem relying on the relevant literature.
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TEACHER’S PERCEPTION ABOUT THE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE OF ROMA STUDENTS
139-146Views:227The current paper aims to shed light on the problem of Roma students' school performance through the perception of teachers. We examine the phenomenon at the level of locality, relying on qualitative research methodology. The empirical data collection was carried out at the István Király Baptist Primary School in Kótaj, in the county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, during which semi-structured interviews were recorded (N=15).
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THE "INSTITUTIONALIZATION" OF THE LOVARI LANGUAGE FROM THE ASPECT OF SOCIAL INNOVATION
85-93Views:410In this current paper we intend to reflect upon the historicity and social impact of Lovari language education from the perspective of social innovation. Our starting point is that the process of the acceptance of the Lovari language and its recognition in the educational palette of foreign languages is a „bottom-up” initiative that developed mainly from the work of Romani intellectuals. The focus of our interest is, among others, the following questions: Who invented it? Who supported it? Who prevented it? What language learning methods are used by people teaching Lovari language who are originally not language teachers? The „institutionalization” of language education in Lovari and the state-recognized language exam certificate that can be obtained in this language have a serious social impact, for example, it helped disadvantaged and/or Roma students to obtain a university degree. From this point of view, we also consider this phenomenon as an innovation. Besides the secondary sources, we tend to map the topic with the help of primary, qualitative data. In addition to interviews with Lovari language teachers (N=3) who have been teaching for several decades, we would like to put our own perceptions in a narrative.