Self-concept of the Roma pupils and their attitude towards school and education in elementary schools in Novo mesto

Elementary school process of the Roma pupils in Slovenia is still somehow problematic, especially in Dolenjska region. The Roma people are an ethnic group, which differs significantly from other population in their way of living, their values and habits. The main purpose of this Master’s Thesis is to offer a better insight into the way they feel at school, their attitude towards education, their self-concept, especially in the educational and social fields. To be more specific, I concentrated on the general, educational and social self-concept of the Roma children attending public schools in Novo mesto Municipality. The theoretical part presents the Roma community, their situation in Slovenia, and I presented specifically the Roma people in Novo Mesto Municipality, with special emphasis on the education and the problems related to the education of the Roma children. I also presented the self-concept, especially educational and social, as well as the influence of their self-concept on academic success and acceptance in the classroom. The empirical part presents the results of the survey, conveyed in June 2017, at three elementary schools in Novo Mesto Municipality. The sample included grades 5-8, which had the Roma pupils. 200 pupils participated, of which 25 were the Roma children. The survey also included 14 class teachers, who were teaching the Roma pupils from the survey. To determine the self-concept I used a questionnaire for self-description (SDQ-I), and to determine the attitude towards school and education I used a questionnaire about the attitude towards school and education, filled-in by pupils as well as teachers. I also interviewed teachers to gain data about the academic success and the attendance of the children participating in the survey. The results of the survey showed that compared to their non-Roma peers, the Roma pupils have lower general and educational self-concept, while regarding their social self-concept there are no differences between the Roma pupils and their peers. I was also interested in their attitude towards school and education. I found out that there are differences, namely, the Roma children have a worse attitude towards school than their peers, but positivity still outweighs negativity. While comparing the Roma children’s own perception of school and education and the same perception as seen by their teachers, I found out that teachers evaluate their attitude worse than children themselves. I was also interested in the correlation between the level of self-concept and academic success, as well as the correlation between school attendance and success. The results show that these factors do not influence their academic success. I think that my Master’s Thesis, especially in the empirical area, can help teachers and other pedagogical experts, dealing with the Roma children, plan a more efficient educational scheme