Abstract:

Slovakia is a country which has the highest proportion of Roma population within the entire Europe. Based on qualified estimates, the Roma constitute 9-10% of the Slovakia's population. According to the Atlas of Romany Communities (2013), they live in three types of settlements:
1) inside a village (18%);
2) on the outskirts of a village (24%); and
3) in segregated housing (12%).

The rest (46%) live scattered among the majority population. Such a geographical distribution of the Roma population leads to the formation of ethnically homogeneous schools. These are most often established in or near the Roma settlements. However, some are also located in the nearby villages and towns where the majority population lives. Unfortunately, the social differences between the majority population and this ethnic minority are huge, causing a strong community tension. Due to this, the schools face a so-called "white flight effect”, which sees a massive outflow of non-Romany children from local schools. As a result, these become ethnically homogeneous. The existence of segregated education runs counter to the concept of an inclusive education policy, to which Slovakia has committed under the ratification of international agreements. Ethnically homogeneous schools are not even in line with the national strategic plans for the inclusion of Roma. Both the experts and non-government organizations point out that improving the quality of education in Slovakia is not possible without encouraging heterogeneous composition of pupils in schools and classes. Laity, but also part of the teaching community thinks that an ethnically homogeneous school is the best solution for Roma children. Many believe that Roma parents have the same opinion and therefore prefer it. In our research, we have therefore posed a question, whether a ethnically homogeneous school is, from the perspective of Roma parents, the best way to educate their children. We chose a qualitative research design using a semi-structured interview that was conducted within focus groups. The research sample included ethnic Roma from a particular location in the eastern Slovakia, whose children attend an ethnically homogeneous school. Respondents perceived an ethnically homogeneous school as a problem and regarded it as an instrument of intentional deepening of segregation within education. However, the research did not followed the ambition to formulate valid conclusions in relation to the Romany population in Slovakia. It was a qualitative probe, the aim of which was to formulate hypotheses that could form the basis for other similarly intended research.

Based on the analysis of qualitative data, we formulated two basic assumptions:
1) There is a relationship between the opinions of Roma parents on ethnically homogeneous school and the quality of their relations with the majority population;
2) The views of Roma parents on ethnically homogeneous schools depend on the type of settlement, which they live in. These hypotheses will be subject to verification during the next stage of the research.

Keywords:

Roma, equality in education, inclusive education, segregation in education.