Fine arts activities to support the Roma preschool children in learning about the educational system

Efforts to include socially disadvantaged children into educational institutions has been a main goal of various offices and organisations in the last years. Preschool children develop essential emotional, social and communication competences that they can suitably strengthen in a supportive environment. In a certain measure, kindergarten as a place is able to replace specific deficits of Roma preschool children who come from socially disadvantaged environment. By inclusion into educational programmes, children reach crucial knowledge that is required when they enter school. Especially, they gain in the socialization field and learning Slovenian language. The theoretical part of this master’s thesis presents and deals with Roma population and their meaning of early inclusion of Roma children into educational institutions as well as the development and the meaning of art activities in the preschool period. The empirical part of the thesis is qualitatively set and is based on the analysis of workshops of visits of preschool Roma children, who visited the kindergarten twice a month. The sample is intended (non-random) and includes five Roma preschool children, who do not regularly visit the kindergarten. Through art-therapeutic workshops in the kindergarten and working with both, Roma and non-Roma children at the same time, we were trying to establish how these activities affect the Roma children in their learning about and functioning in the new environment. We focused on the well-being of children, their interest and communication in various activities during the day, with an emphasis on art therapy. The findings of the survey show that introducing of Roma children into educational system should include creative media as “promoters” of the children’s contact and well-being