The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) Project Budapest, 6 July 2011

1. The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) Project Budapest, 6 July 2011 John Bennett, M.Ed. Ph.D. bennett.paris@gmail.com

2. Overview of this presentation • The rationale for the RECI project • Overview of the RECI project • The challenge of Roma inclusion in Hungary • Some recommendations from the RECI 4-country Overview Report

3. A personal introduction • Organised the OECD review of early childhood services in Hungary in 2002. Visited several parts of the country… • We called attention to the situation of Roma children and the weakness of the local government: “smaller settlements in low employment or rural regions faced the greatest challenges in providing and assuring quality ECEC services to young children in their jurisdiction”… precisely where the Roma live. • We were very impressed by the work of the Hungarian kindergarten, the óvoda, and by the use of the concept nevelés (as opposed to tanitás). • Nevelés is a holistic concept, including not just care and education (considered as very closely related) but also health, behaviour and social skills – everything needed in life. It has, therefore, much in common with the concept of ‘social pedagogy’ (as used, for example, in Denmark or Germany) or ‘education in its broadest sense’

4. A convergence of different rationales • The unacceptable poverty and discrimination against Roma families and their children in European countries;* • The commitment of the Roma and their organisations, backed by the European Union and international organizations, to change the situation; • The realisation by governments that the Roma population is growing more rapidly than majority populations and, in several countries, will soon constitute a significant part of the European workforce; • The understanding that the early childhood period is the foundation stage not only of individual development but also of lifelong health and education. Investments must be made from the beginning if Roma children are to acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills to continue education and become part of a skilled European workforce; • The lack of reliable data on young Roma children in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries - in particular, concerning their health, developmental and education status - hinders the development of evidence-based policies. *We are aware that there are many successful Roma people, that Roma groups differ from each other and that Roma society is socially stratified. Our concern is for the many Roma children who live in dire poverty and are denied the educational opportunities that could break the inter-generational transmission of poverty and enable countries to avail of the positive contribution to society that Roma children can make.

5. Overview of the RECI project • The RECI Project is sponsored and managed by the Roma Education Fund, the Open Society Institute and UNICEF. • The purpose is to gather data and information about the inclusion of young Roma children in the early childhood services of four Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania. • For each country, a national Roma Early Childhood Inclusion Report willbe researched and written by national experts. They will identify priority early childhood policy issues for Roma families and children • Each report will be guided by a Report Format and common questionnaire, grounded in normative values, in data-based investigation, and in agreed research positions on the strategies to be adopted in supporting excluded families and children

6. Report validation… • Each report is validated by: • Conformity to the Report Format and questionnaire • A national meeting of all the stakeholders in each country , including government representatives and international experts. • The final chapter (conclusions and recommendations) of each report are written only after the national consultation meeting • Finally, a synthetic Final Report has been written by the senior consultant - corrected and validated at a review meeting bringing together the country authors, Roma representatives and government officials.

7. The challenge of Roma inclusion in Hungary

8. Social challenges • “In almost all terms related to the United Nation’s Human Development Index including life expectancy at birth,knowledge and education and standard of living,the majority of Roma in Hungary are in a much more disadvantaged situation than the rest of the population. “ RECI Report for Hungary • The income level in 82% of Roma households fails to reach the minimum living standard. Around c.33% live in absolute poverty (Kemény, I. and B. Janky, 2003: “On the employment and income position of the Roma”… Ladányi and Szelényi) • More than 35 % of Roma children (aged 0-18) live in households below the poverty line. (over twice the national ratio) • “Unfortunately every piece of evidence points towards serious segregation and even ghettoisation … the socially deprived are strongly concentrated in the Northern regions of the country” RECI Report for Hungary • The international research agrees that even when there is a level playing field in education, family background and socio-economic status are the two most powerful influences on educational achievement and life chances, e.g. PISA … experience of Head Start in the USA

9. Education challenges • In Hungary, pre-school is compulsory for a minimum of four hours a day from the age of five. It is against the law to reject any child who is obliged to attend pre-school. For children 5-6 years, attendance is compulsory . 92% of 5-year olds receive kindergarten education (c.80% for children 3-5 years, mostly for 5 hours per day) • Roma kindergarten attendance is around 50% (estimate … at what age? for how many hours?). According to education statistical data in 2009/2010, there was no kindergarten service available in 29 per cent of the settlements in Hungary (927 settlements). According to Plantenga and Remery, 2009, 43% of families with a young child live in municipalities with no services. • Based on the 2003 research, about 80% of Roma children finish elementary school. The same year, 5% graduated from a secondary school, and about 1% studied in tertiary education. • The ratio of school-age Roma children reached 15 percent of all the students in 2008. Kemény-Janky, 2003. évi cigány felmérésről” [“Statistical Records of the Gypsy Population in 2003”]

10. What are the lessons from the RECI Overview Report?

11. Seven principles of action • Roma children are valuable: Europe and its member states can no longer afford to neglect their future. The barriers to their access must be torn down. • In addition to legislation, governments need to invest in communication and education to renew majority notions of citizenship and democracy. • Early childhood policies for Roma children will be more effective if linked closely with EU Roma initiatives. These policies also benefit from inclusion within national policies for all children, but with a strong Romani input. • In contexts of extreme poverty and exclusion, developmental readiness for school requires a multi-dimensional concept of early childhood programming that places a strong emphasis on early intervention and women’s education.

12. European support for regional development in Northern Hungary and for multi-functional prgrommaing • A major problem for Roma communities exists in Northern Hungary, one of the poorest regions in Hungary. Many Roma groups are concentrated there. Municipalities are often too small and too poor to afford even a health unit, not to mention a kindergarten or school • Multi-functional interventions are needed in the isolated regions to engage women and communities around the well-being of children: health and pre-natal care; play groups for children, women´s groups, community development groups… • Financing will be needed. The EU offers assistance and significant funding for micro-regional development, in particular, for the EU's least developed micro-regions, “where the most marginalised groups live, and in particular Roma” ((An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020).

13. For comments: bennett.paris@gmail.com13 Comprehensive services in which Roma parents have agency

14. Principles of action contd. • For successful policy implementation, effective governance of the kindergarten sector is critical. • Effective kindergartens and schools for excluded children need clear goals, high quality, expanded services, outreach to parents and appropriate pedagogies. A free place in kindergarten should be provided for at least two years to every child coming from an ‘absolute poverty’ background. • Evidence-based policy in favour of Roma children will not be achieved without research, consultation and data collection

15. Many difficulties ahead • Huge difficulties for Roma children re. early childhood services • Access difficulties • Many Roma families are reluctant – and with good reason – to entrust their children to national early childhood services • Language development challenges… little understanding in the reviewed countries of the importance of birth to 3 years • Low expectations of teachers, many of whom have difficulty in distinguishing their professional role from their personal opinions… training • Exclusion by other children..

16. Vocabulary 1200 Higher educated families Middle-class families 600 Poor families with little education 0 12 16 20 24 26 32 36 Age- Months Vocabulary Growth – First 3 Years Source: B.Hart & T. Risley. Meaningful Differences in Everyday Experiences of Young American Children, 1995

17. Difficulties for this project to be heard • Political challenges • Particularly when Roma constitute a very small minority - politicians do not see Roma inclusion as important. Is 15% enough? • Situation exacerbated at the local political level… • The present financial situation… but ECDE is an investment that actually saves money! • The solution for the Roma people must include JOBS – the most important form of inclusion for any group

18. What we hope to achieve… • To have better data on Roma families and young children… No data, no problem (OSF, Budapest) … Good work achieved by the Hungarian authors of the RECI Report for Hungary • To encourage co-ordination between the Ministries, NGOs and Roma communities without apportioning blame • To encourage the EC and governments to provide finance and encourage isolated rural communities to establish mothers’ groups and informal play groups for young children. It all starts from birth to three! • To do away with segregation in kindergarten and ensure access – and duration - for Roma children to national mainstream services • To raise awareness among Roma families of the importance of giving a good educational start to their young children

19. Thank you!