Engl. transl.: Distance learning during the crisis with COVID-19. Challenges for the educational integration of students from the Roma community

COVID-19 is the most serious stress test on the state of societies in recent decades, including cohesion within them. The Roma minority, which is subject to multiple exclusions and faces numerous inequalities, is at the forefront of this across Europe. The challenges posed by the pandemic to Roma families and schools educating students from the Roma community increase the need for urgent political action regarding the educational integration of Roma. The analysis “Distance Learning during the COVID-19 Crisis - Challenges to the Educational Integration of Roma Students” introduces the specific dimensions of this extremely serious problem, analyzing the empirical data from two field studies conducted among 200 schools with a concentration of students from vulnerable groups, in particular Roma students, as well as documents and events during the distance learning from the second term of the academic year 2019/2020.

Compared to children and students from the Roma community, the pandemic and the overall trend towards digitization of the learning process further exacerbate some important inequalities. The presence of many students without devices and internet connectivity in the so-called Roma schools easily leads to a lower percentage of those participating, especially in synchronous forms of distance learning. Without a targeted effort to avoid this danger, a dichotomy can easily ensue in which schools with a large percentage of majority students implement synchronous distance learning based on internet platforms and real-time lessons, while so-called Roma schools rely on above all of asynchronous forms and of educational mediators. Some poor families do not have adequate electronic devices and proper internet connection. Thus, their participation in distance learning in an electronic environment becomes very problematic. Children from low-educated families cannot rely on family support to acquire the necessary digital competences. Distance learning is especially problematic for students who are at risk of dropping out or leaving the education system early. "The lack of digital resources for Roma culture and history, as well as for the use of intercultural education, is a serious obstacle in the efforts to preserve the cultural identity of children and students from ethnic minorities and to introduce intercultural education, educating all students in a spirit of tolerance." (Extracted from the Conclusions and Recommendation part of the publication.