Capacities of early education teachers and future professionals in early education for work with Roma children

Children from Roma families, included in early education, are often exposed to discrimination and stereotyping by educators, peers and their parents. They also often face a language barrier, whereas the educators themselves... [ view full abstract ]

Children from Roma families, included in early education, are often exposed to discrimination and stereotyping by educators, peers and their parents. They also often face a language barrier, whereas the educators themselves often report on the lack of skills necessary for work with them. All the above mentioned potentially amount to more difficult socialization and the lower care quality of Roma children in preschool. The aim of the research was to describe capacities of early education teachers and future profesionals in early education. The sample comprised 24 educators from preschool facilities in Vojvodina, as well as 18 students of the Higher Professional School for the Education of Teachers in Novi Sad. The questionnaire contained vignettes with descriptions of two children – both from the low income family with unemployed, low educated parents, but one of them described as Roma child. The respondents were asked to asess their own motivation, self-competence to work with both of them, as well as conditions in preschool facility and expected problems in establishing contacts with peers and social interaction, relying on educator’s support and care, ability to participate in education activities led by teacher, emotional response and regulation, cognitive and speech development. In the teacher sample, the results showed a significantly lower assessments of motivation, sense of self-competence and conditions in preschool facility for work with a Roma child, and significantly higher assessments of problems which a Roma child may face in the aspects of establishing contacts with peers and social interaction, emotional response and regulation, cognitive and speech development. In the student subsample, there was no differences in the assessment of the measured variables pertaining to mentioned children, apart from the anticipated problems in speech development (assessed higher in case of a Roma child). Practical and theoretical implications of the findings will be discussed.