The Educational Situation Of Roma Children In Albania During The Pandemic, The Role Of Parents

Abstract

The Roma community in Albania occupies a significant number of the population although since 2011 (CENSUS) there is no other accurate population census data. Awaiting the new CENSUS data, we can estimate that even the official figures we have today are not correct. A problem that has always been identified in relation to this community in Albania has been and remains the education of Roma children, which has been described by various studies as being at very low levels. Despite the efforts made in the last 15 years, this condition has not improved enough to change the educational situation. There have been sporadic efforts, but apparently, the situation continues to be alarming. If we consider in addition the great difficulties that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic, their situation deteriorated. In our study, we want to highlight that one of the main causes of this situation was the role played by the parents of Roma children during the pandemic period. The focus of this study is the parents of Roma children in the Elbasan area and two other components: the role of teachers and the use of technology. Our study raises the hypothesis that the role of Roma parents has been low or nonexistent and that their educational situation has been deteriorating during the Covid-19 pandemic and after. The research questions raised in the study have been answered by the interviews conducted with parents of Roma children in the city of Elbasan and its surroundings. Based on the data collected in the study, we have also given some recommendations, which would help improve the situation in the long term. These recommendations should be considered and adopted in the policies of central and local institutions, beginning with schools, local education offices, municipalities, and the Ministry of Education.