Prepreke u obrazovanju učenika Roma i mogućnosti njihova otklanjanja iz perspektive romskih učenika osnovnih škola

Problems of poorer school performance, too many hours of absence from school and high rates of drop out of school, around the world are the present among students belonging to poorer social groups, including children belonging to ethnic minorities. The causes are multiple, but in the scientific literature they are usually reduced to two broad categories: one refers to the shortcomings of the education system, such as stereotyping and lack of support, and the other to the shortcomings of the student and his family, such as lower educational aspirations, disciplinary problems, lack of interest, premature pregnancy, etc. Low level of education is a problem that also affects members of the Roma ethnic minority in Europe and Croatia. In the year 2002/2003 almost one third of Roma children did not attend school. Among Roma students who have completed primary school, very few transfer to secondary school, and a negligible number are in higher education. Roma live in Croatia more than 600 years. In 2011, there were about 17,000 of them, although it is assumed that the actual number is much higher. Most of them live in Međimurje County which has 113,804 inhabitants, of which 5,107 are members of the Roma national minority. About 8% of all students in the county are Roma children. In the year 2010/2011, 223 Roma children were included in preschool education, 1,489 Roma students attended primary school, and only 88 of them continued secondary school. Transitions to the fifth and eighth grades of primary schools are a big problem. The number of Roma students enrolled in the first grade in 2004/2005 decreased by 21.29% in the fifth grade and by almost 75% in the eighth grade.