Description
A large number of evidence show that the literary skills of Roma are generally lower compared with the non-Roma population, and this represents both a cause and a consequence of sub-standard life quality among Roma people. However, there are few scientific data to identify the underlying causality of this phenomenon. The ELIRA project aims to find, through a longitudinal study, the dynamic of the psychological mechanisms involved in the development of the literacy skills of Roma children and to identify efficient educative strategies to improve the literacy skills of this ethnic group. An understanding of those aspects will help authorities from Romania, Norway as well as those from the international community to act more efficiently towards improving the literacy level of Roma children and to break the poverty cycle through increasing their chances to a better education. The outcomes of the project will also help school teachers and local authorities from Romania, Norway and international community to understand the nature of the educational needs of Roma children and to address more adequately the reported literacy issues of this ethnic group. The Norwegian partners will provide methodological expertise in the field of assessing the literacy achievement of elementary students, by assisting their Romanian counterparts selecting and building relevant assessment instruments, by providing advice regarding data collection procedures, statistical analysis and publication in scientific journals. The partnership will help local, national and international stakeholders to have a better understanding of the underlying psychological mechanisms that help Roma children improve their literacy skills, as well as to a better understanding regarding some of the successful intervention programs that would help Roma children improve their literacy skills.
Summary of project results
A large body of evidence shows that literacy skills of Roma population are lower compared with non-Roma, and this fact represents both a cause and a consequence of substandard life quality of this ethnic group. So far local, national and international authorities made great deals of effort to break this vicious cycle, but little success has been reported. The objective was fully reached given the unprecedented findings that are relevant not only to local or national authorities, but also to the international scientific community. More precisely, the project pointed out to the crucial role that family socio-economic status has for children living in poverty, and has consistently indicated that the intervention studies aimed to improve the situation of Roma from Romania should strongly emphasize on improving the school-family partnership and help parents get involved in their children’s’ education. The international relevance of the preliminary findings was confirmed by the presentation of the preliminary findings to the top international conferences in the field of literacy, Education and Educational Psychology. - A set of assessment instruments designed to measure the pre-literacy and literacy development indicators of children from Romania in their early school years (grades 1 and 2). - A set of alternative materials aimed at enhancing the literacy skills of elementary school students from Romania (grades 1 and 2). - A guide of good practices for education of Roma children aimed at educational stakeholders. - A new intervention procedure designed to enhance the literacy skills of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. - Several pre-service and in-service training sessions for students registered in “Teacher Education” courses and educators designed to enhance awareness of literacy needs of Roma children. - An updated “Alternative education” curriculum designed for training teachers who are working with minorities and children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. - Nine scientific articles designed to expand the knowledge of literacy needs of Roma children. The findings of ELIRA project and the wide dissemination of the results, particularly among local stakeholders (inspectors, Roma representatives, school principals), but also among pre-service and in-service teachers is expected to have a powerful effect in the near future in the way Roma minority is being perceived. Several assessment instruments were selected, developed, adapted or translated.
Summary of bilateral results
The ELIRA project involved one Romanian entity (Babes-Bolyai University) and one Norwegian entity (University of Oslo). The very successful partnership helped the Romanian team learn from the expertise of the Norwegian partners particularly in the areas of research design, selection of the assessment instruments, data collection, statistical analysis, conference presentations and academic publication. The successful organization and coordination of such a unique large scale longitudinal study in the field of literacy (a premiere for any Romanian entity) was possible only by the human resources capital of the Romanian entity and the expertise of the Norwegian partners in the field of literacy. The very promising data collected so far (strong relationships between variables and reliable data collection instruments) has set the premises for continuation of the data collection (which will provide an even stronger scientific output) and joint application for other research projects that would focus on a large-scale randomized controlled trials that would help bridge the inequality in educational opportunities of vulnerable children. No other formal bilateral relations have been developed. The performance of the project could not have been possible without the key advisory role of the project partners from the University of Oslo, particularly in the area of research design, selection of the assessment instruments, data collection and most importantly, statistical analysis. The outcomes of the project also benefited the Norwegian partners not only by helping them understand the crucial role of socio-economic status in literacy development, but also by providing them the resources to expand and develop relevant knowledge about the psychology of a minority (Roma) that is being pervasively present in Norway (particularly Oslo area). Thus, the project helped Norwegian partners becoming a very resourceful advisory entity for Norwegian stakeholders. This unprecedented and very successful partnership lead to the development of new research project needs that will be explored in the following months.