Stefan Popovici

The Choice of Having a Secondary Education Among the Romani Children: a Survey of Family Influences Among Romani Children at the Eighth Grade in Romania Stefan Popovici

What makes Romani children attend or drop secondary school? The present study investigates the influences of cultural family factors on the choice of having a secondary education among the Romani children at the eighth grade in one of southern Romanian counties. The methodology of the study is based on a survey design carried out by group application of a questionnaire which was built for this purpose, upon the reviewing previous research and the literature in the field. The findings showed that Romani children and their parents admit the necessity of having a secondary education; they are willing to participate in the process and the obstacles they encounter may have a social and economical background rather than a cultural ethnic background. The study introduces the reader to the Romani culture, the socio-cultural background and school system in Romania, continues with a short account of the previous research on Romani ethnic group and concludes by presentimg which factors were found as most influential on the Romani children choice of having a secondary education.