The Influences of Family Factors on 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

Abstract

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. Upon the review of previous researches the study considered the following cultural family factors: family income and traditional profession, starting a family and lifestyle, threats to cultural identity and parents’ aspirations. The research was conducted as a survey design by group application of a questionnaire. The questionnaire, created for the study purpose, contained four scales in accordance with the four factors mentioned above, each factor measured by a number of four to six questions graded on the Likert scale. The population was formed of 180 Romani children, at the eighth grade who are about to make their choice for secondary education (82 boys and 98 girls) found in the schools of county Dambovita, Romania. The preliminary data showed that Romani children are willing to attend secondary education as well as their parents to support them in their intentions. The traditional aspect of Roma culture that may be a hindering factor for secondary education attendance was their intention of being economically successful at an early age which determines the Romani children to opt for a traditional occupation rather than the school education. Children from families with a satisfactory income realised through a traditional profession tend to abandon school after the eighth grade while children from families with a low income intend to continue with secondary education. Other traditional aspects such as: looking after siblings, helping their parents with the daily tasks and starting a family at an early age have little influence on their choice of having a secondary education. Moreover, data showed that even though the Romani parents are aware of the changes that school education may bring about, they do not fear the changes. The Romani people tend to accommodate the school education to their own cultural lifestyle and find it useful as a way of getting ahead in life. The study calculated the factor analysis which revealed three significant factors that may decide their choice of having a secondary education: income and traditional profession, parents’ opinions about school education and threats to their cultural identity. A high score of parents’ opinions about education boosts Romani children interest in choosing to have a secondary education, the presence of an effective traditional occupation and a satisfactory income lower their school interest and the less threatening the education is for them the more interested in choosing to attend secondary school they are. In accordance with the Romani children’s opinions, 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.