Roma Early Childhood Inclusion + Bulgaria Report (2020)

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Roma Early Childhood Inclusion + Bulgaria Report (2020)

The Republic of Bulgaria has endeavoured, over the last three decades, to address the stark injustices evident in the socioeconomic situation of the majority of its Roma citizens and as evidenced in the country’s National Roma Integration Strategy 2012–2020. These efforts have accelerated since 2007, when Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union (EU). At present, Bulgaria is making important steps towards creating a national framework for early childhood development, a goal that remains high on the national agenda, and towards developing a more integrated approach to support parents and children in the early years. This RECI+ Report carries the explicit intention of providing Bulgarian authorities and civil society with a timely and informed account of the situation of Bulgarian Roma children during early childhood, and, in so doing, supporting government and other relevant actors to ensure equal and unhindered access to inclusive and integrated quality education, health, and social care for young Roma children and their families.

Read the policy brief in English here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ Czech Republic Report (2015)

This report on the early childhood education and care (ECEC) of young Roma children in the Czech Republic departs somewhat in its approach from previous Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI+) Studies and Reports. The preparation of this report was led by the Open Society Foundations. The RECI initiative, which is ongoing, is a joint venture of three Sponsoring Agencies, namely: the Open Society Foundations Early Childhood Program, the Roma Education Fund, and UNICEF.

The principle reasons for a Special Report on Roma Inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care at this stage of events, and not a full RECI+ Research Study and Report, include: the critical importance of ECEC for all children, particularly those
from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds;1 the pressing need for a timely contribution to the ongoing legislative actions and important national debates surrounding Roma education and inclusion in the Czech Republic; and to assist and support the government and public authorities, and educational decision makers and practitioners tasked with fulfilling their responsibilities in a context of critical international scrutiny.

Read the report in Czech here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion Macedonia Report (2011)

A detailed picture of early childhood policy and provision frameworks in Macedonia, highlighting the barriers and opportunities for improving the access of Roma children to appropriate and high-quality early childhood development (ECD) services. The principal objective of the report is to provide data on young Romani children’s exclusion from society and to make this available to decision makers and key stakeholders that work on early childhood policies and programs. In order to protect the Roma community from the risks of segregation the following recommendations are made: extra effort is needed to prepare the ethnic majorities (Macedonians and Albanians) for greater inclusion of minority groups (Roma) and to value diversity in society. There have been some notable initiatives in the country to support Roma children’s education but more effort is necessary to: strengthen regulations in relation to ECD services; support human capacity development in order to enable Roma children to participate in and benefit from high-quality early childhood education services.

Read the report in Macedonian here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion – Overview Report (2012)

The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) reports build a detailed picture of early childhood policy and provision frameworks, highlighting the barriers and opportunities for improving the access of Roma children to appropriate and high-quality early childhood services. The principal objective of the Reports is to make information and data on young Roma children’s exclusion available to decision makers and key stakeholders with a view to advocate for equitable early childhood policies and programmes. In the first chapter, the report shows the gathered data and information about the inclusion of young Roma children in the early childhood services of four countries: the Czech Republic, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia. In the second chapter, it underlines issues –  identified in each National Report – related to slow policy progress, low education level, poverty, discrimination, failures of kindergarten and primary school services as well as the lack of disaggregated data on young children and their participation in education. In the last part, the report provides recommendations for more comprehensive and inclusive early childhood services and suggests a clear policy agenda with actions to be taken by governments.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ Slovakia Report (2017)

The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI)+ Slovakia Report (2017) maps the current state of the system of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Slovakia. In particular it identifies and analyses the obstacles of access to quality preschool education for Slovakian Romani children. It underlines the undeniable importance and long-

term positive impact of quality early care and preschool education, especially for children who come from socially and economically disadvantaged environments. The low investment in ECEC places Slovakia far below the Europe 2020 target on kindergartens participation for children aged 4 to 6, in fact in Slovakia the issue of Roma children segregation in the education system is quite alarming (e.g. ethnically homogeneous Roma classes, Roma schools, separate floors, separate play yard). In Slovakia, the inappropriate preparation of teachers terms of working with children from diverse socio-cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds hampers Romani children inclusion in early care programs and compromises their growth and education.

Read the report in Slovak here.

Read the policy brief in English here.

Read the policy brief in Slovak here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion + Croatia Report (2015)

The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI)+ Croatia Report is intended to aid the authorities in ensuring the development of unhindered and equal access for Romani children to quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The purpose of the research is to tackle the difficult situation of Romani children and to support the commitment of Romani NGOs and governments in improving their situation and moreover to spread the importance of early years in children’s lives as a key period for lifelong success. In Croatia, education and care services are decentralized to local governments and this leads to significant regional differences in the ECEC. It is fundamental to improve Romani children’s attainment and regular attendance in preschool and to guarantee a national standard of early childhood educational opportunities and quality preschool education for all children, including Roma. The second language acquisition effort of Romani children has to be supported and improved in order to avoid linguistic barriers issues in learning.

Read the report in Croatian here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion Serbia Report (2012)

The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) Serbia report concerns the situation of young Romani children and their families in the Republic of Serbia. Serbia has undertaken a process of social inclusion, which implies the development of policies, institutional frameworks and methodologies for enabling social inclusion as one of the essential requirements of the EU accession process. As a result of the democratic changes in Serbia the situation of Roma people has changed somewhat and early childhood services are receiving more attention. However, although Roma are the largest and the most vulnerable national minority in the country, reliable data on Roma populations do not exist. The importance of early childhood development as a crucial age to invest in and grow the country’s future social capital is just beginning to emerge.

Read the report in Serbian here.