Rethinking the Role of Pedagogical Assistants: Establishing Cooperation between Roma Families and Schools in Serbia
Keywords:
Roma teaching assistants/pedagogical assistants, teachers, Roma pupils/families, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural competence
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the risks and challenges related to cooperation of pedagogical assistants (PAs) with Roma parents/families and working with Roma pupils, as well as to offer further insight into ways to overcome the risks and challenges. Roma pupils and parents/families face numerous difficulties in education, which are reflected in prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. The educational policy measure of introducing PAs, formerly known as Roma teaching assistants, to the educational system of Serbia, aimed to contribute to the learning and social participation of Roma pupils and establishing cooperation between school staff and Roma parents. The further segregation of Roma pupils and reduced engagement of the teachers in supporting Roma pupils and fostering communication with Roma parents are seen as the possible risks that could be related to the engagement of PAs. In order to minimize the risks we are proposing a framework for defining and understanding the roles of teachers and PAs from intercultural perspective. Relying upon two concepts ̶ intercultural sensitivity (IS) and intercultural competence (IC), we elaborate the necessity of perceiving cultural differences in accordance with the ethnorelative worldview, both by the teachers and PAs. In addition, we outline the cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects of IC, which we believe they should possess. Further recommendations regarding the engagement of PAs and minimizing the risks and challenges are proposed.
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References
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UNESCO and the Council of Europe (2014). Inclusion from the start: guidelines on inclusive early childhood care and education for Roma children.
Vandenbroeck, M. (2011). Diversity in Early Childhood Services. Encyclopaedia on Early Childhood Development.
Ward, C. (2001). The A, B, Cs of acculturation. In D. Matsumoto (Ed.), Handbook of Culture and Psychology (pp. 411–446). New York: Oxford University Press.
Westrick, J. (2004). The influence of service learning on intercultural sensitivity: A quantitative study. Journal of Research in International Education, 3(3), 277–299. doi: 10.1177/1475240904047356
Yuen, C. Y. M. (2010). Dimensions of diversity: Challenges to secondary school teachers with implications for intercultural teacher education.Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 732–741.
Zakon o osnovama sistema obrazovanja i vaspitanja [Law on the Foundations of the Education System] (2009). Službeni glasnik RS, br. 72/2009.
Zhang, J. (2014). The Review: The Intercultural Development Inventory Manual. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 32(2), 178–183.
cultural adaptation and task performance. Management and Organization Review, 3(3), 335–371. doi:10.1111/j.1740-8784.2007.00082.
Banks, A. J. (2006). Cultural Diversity and Education, Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching. Boston: Pearson Education.
Bennett, M. J. (1986). Towards Ethnorelativism: A Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Cross-cultural orientation: new conceptualizations and applications (pp. 27–70). Lanham, MD.: University Press of America.
Bennett, M. J. (1998). Intercultural communication: A current perspective. In M. J. Bennett (Ed.), Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Selected readings. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Bennett, M. J. (2004). Becoming Interculturally Competent. In J. Wurzel (Ed.), Toward Multiculturalism: A Reader in Multicultural Education (pp. 62–77). Newton, MA: Intercultural
Resource Corporation.
Bennet, M. J. (2011). A Developmental Models of Intercultural Sensitivity. Hillsboro & Milano: Intercultural Development Research Institute.
Bennett, M. J. (2012). Roma Early Childhood Inclusion. The RECI Overview Report. Open Society Foundations, Roma Education Fund and UNICEF.
Bennett, J., & Bennett, M. (2004). Developing intercultural sensitivity: An integrative approach to global and domestic diversity. In D. Landis, J. Bennett, & M. Bennett (Eds.), Handbook of
intercultural training (3rd ed.) (pp. 147–166). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Chen, G. M., & Starosta, W. J. (1996). Intercultural Communication Competence: A Synthesis. Communication Yearbook, 19(1), 353–383.
Crozier, G., & Davies, J. (2007). Hard to reach parents or hard to reach schools? A discussion of home–school relations, with particular reference to Bangladeshi and Pakistani parents. British
Educational Research Journal, 33(3), 295–313.
Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266. doi:10.1177/1028315306287002
Äelić, J., Tomić-Najdanović, J., Nikolić, J., & Džida, B. (2012). Empirijsko istraživanje: Procena kapaciteta i potreba uÄitelja za razvoj inkluzivnog obrazovanja [Empirical research: Assessment
of teachers’ capacities and needs for the development of inclusive education]. Beograd: Zavod za vrednovanje kvaliteta obrazovanja i vaspitanja i Savez uÄitelja Republike Srbije.
Desforges, C., & Abouchar, A. (2003). The impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and family education on pupil achievements and adjustment: A literature review. Department for
Education and Skills.
Duvnjak, N., Mihajlović, M., Skarep, A., Stojanović, J., & Trikić, Z. (2010). Romski pedagoški asistenti i asistentkinje kao nosioci promena [Roma Pedagogical Assistants as Agents of Change]. Belgrade: OSCE Mission in Serbia.
European Roma Right Centre (2014). A Long way to Go: Overrepresentation of Roma Children in “Special Schools†in Serbia. Budapest: European Roma Right Centre.
Flecha, R., & Soler, M. (2013). Turning difficulties into possibilities: engaging Roma families and students in school through dialogic learning. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(4), 451–465.
Gay, G., & Howard, T. C. (2000). Multicultural Teacher Education for the 21th Century. TheTeacher Educator, 36(1), 1–16.
Gimenez Adelantado, A., Piasere, L., & Liegeois, J. P. (2002). The education of Gypsy childhood in Europe. Opre Roma.
Gomez, J.,& Vargas, J. (2003). Why Roma do not like Mainstream Schools: Voices of a People without Territory. Harvard Educational Review, 73, 559–590.
Hammer, M. R. (2011). Additional cross-cultural validity testing of the Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35(4), 474–487.
Institute for the Evaluation of Education Quality (2009). Evaluation study: The role of Pedagogical Assistants for the Support of Roma Students as a Systemic Measure for Improving the Education of Roma. Belgrade: Institute for the Evaluation of Education Quality.
Knowles, G., & Holmstrom, R. (2013). Understanding Family Diversity and Home-School Relations. A guide for students and practitioners in early years and primary settings. London and New York: Routledge.
Kyuchukov, H. (2012). Roma mediators in Europe: A new council of Europe programme. Intercultural Education, 23(4), 375–378. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2012.724875
Leutwyler, B., Mantel, C., Petrović, D. S., Dimitrijević, B. M., & Zlatković, B. (2014). Teachers’ Beliefs about Intercultural Education: Different Levels of Intercultural Sensitivity in Schooling and Teaching. Educational Research, 5(8), 280–289.
Lynch, K., & Baker, J. (2005). Equality in education: an equality of condition perspective. Theory and Research in Education, 3(2), 131–164.
Macura-Milovanović, S. (2012). Crossed realities of Roma parents and non/Roma teachers: experiences from the action research study. In A. Heimgartner, U. Loch, & S. Sting (Eds.), Empirische Forschung in der Sozialen Arbeit. Methoden und methodologische Herausforderungen [Empirical research in Social Work. Methods and Methodology Support] (pp. 275–287). Wien: OFEB Sektion Sozial padagogik, Universitat Graz, Bundesministerium fur Wissenschaft und Forschung. Macura-Milovanović, S., Pantić, N., & Closs, A. (2012). Challenges in developing teacher preparation for working inclusively in contexts of increasingly diverse populations – the case of Serbia. Prospects, 42(1), 19–39.
McAllister, G. & Irvine, J. J. (2000). Cross Cultural Competency and Multicultural Teacher Education. Review of Educational Research, 70(1), 3–24.
Milovanović, I. (2014). Uloga pedagoÅ¡kog asistenta u radu sa uÄenicima kojima je potrebna dodatna pomoć u uÄenju [The role of pedagogical assistant in work with pupils who need additional support]. (Master Thesis). University of Belgrade and University of Kragujevac.
Paige, R. M., Jacobs-Cassuto, M., Yershova, Y. A., & DeJaeghere, J. (2003). Assessing intercultural sensitivity: an empirical analysis of the Hammer and Bennett Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(4), 467–486. doi: 10.1016/S0147-1767(03)00034-8.
Pravilnik o programu obuke za pedagoškog asistenta [Rulebook of training program for Pedagogical Assistant] (2010). Službeni glasnik RS, br. 11/2010.
Pravilnik o standardima kompetencija za profesiju nastavnika i njihovog profesionalnog razvoja [Rulebook of competency standards for teachers in Serbia] (2011). Službeni glasnik RS – Prosvetni glasnik, br. 5/2011.
Prechtl, E., & Lund, A. D. (2007). Intercultural competence and assessment: Perspectives from the INCA Project. In H. Kotthoff, & H. Spencer-Oatey (Eds.), Handbook of Intercultural Communication (pp. 467–490). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Radovanović, S., & Knežević, A. (2014). Popis stanovištva, domaćinstava i stanova 2011. u Republici Srbiji. Romi u Srbiji [2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia. Roma in Serbia]. Belgrade: Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.
Rus, C. (2004). The training of Roma school mediators and assistants. The Council of Europe.
Rus, C. (2006). The situation of Roma school mediators and assistants in Europe. The Council of Europe.
Save the Children (2001). Denied a future? Summary. London: Save the Children.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2014). Serbia Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014. Belgrade: UNICEF.
Strategija za unapređivanje položaja Roma u Republici Srbiji [Strategy for the improvement of Roma position in Serbia (2009). Belgrade: The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights.
UNESCO and the Council of Europe (2014). Inclusion from the start: guidelines on inclusive early childhood care and education for Roma children.
Vandenbroeck, M. (2011). Diversity in Early Childhood Services. Encyclopaedia on Early Childhood Development.
Ward, C. (2001). The A, B, Cs of acculturation. In D. Matsumoto (Ed.), Handbook of Culture and Psychology (pp. 411–446). New York: Oxford University Press.
Westrick, J. (2004). The influence of service learning on intercultural sensitivity: A quantitative study. Journal of Research in International Education, 3(3), 277–299. doi: 10.1177/1475240904047356
Yuen, C. Y. M. (2010). Dimensions of diversity: Challenges to secondary school teachers with implications for intercultural teacher education.Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 732–741.
Zakon o osnovama sistema obrazovanja i vaspitanja [Law on the Foundations of the Education System] (2009). Službeni glasnik RS, br. 72/2009.
Zhang, J. (2014). The Review: The Intercultural Development Inventory Manual. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 32(2), 178–183.
Published
2016-12-31
How to Cite
StarÄevićJ., Dimitrijević, B., & Macura Milovanović, S. (2016). Rethinking the Role of Pedagogical Assistants: Establishing Cooperation between Roma Families and Schools in Serbia. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 6(4), 73-91. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.54
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