INSETROM PROJECT TEACHER TRAINING EVALUATION REPORT Barry van Driel, International Association of Intercultural Education, the Netherlands Dragana Nikolajevic, International Association of Intercultural Education, the Netherlands Fokion Georgiadis, International Association of Intercultural Education, the Netherlands

Specific Objectives of Project Objective 1: Help teachers become more aware of Roma culture, challenges and stereotypes and to redefine their role as educators that can facilitate Roma inclusion; Objective 2: Assist teachers to develop their social and intercultural competencies in order to reexamine the pedagogical tools they use for creating an intercultural school environment that will respect ethnic and cultural diversity; Objective 3: Improve teachers’ social and intercultural competences in order to communicate and work effectively with Roma parents; Objective 4: Build a functional and efficient interface for cooperation between Roma parents and school; Objective 5: Motivate Roma parents to engage in school and become active contributors to their children’s schooling; and Objective 6: Develop European partnerships.

Evaluation Instruments Pre-training questionnaires Post-training questionnaires Guidelines focus group discussions Teacher journals

What we were attempting to measure Previous experience – Training – Perceived challenges – Teaching experiences with and about Roma and confronting bias – Relations between students and with students and parents Confidence levels Reflections on training (also implementation)

67 training modules 165 attendees at eight locations in seven participating countries developed by local trainers and academics, closely followed the standard modules. General themes of the modules: Culture and enculturation Roma history, culture, language, traditions Stereotypes and prejudices Intercultural/multicultural education, multicultural, multi- linguistic schools Curriculum design and adaptation Training of teachers: Training Modules An overview

Teachers’ pre-training assessment “How well trained do you feel you were in the past …?” Teachers’ Responses % of teachers

Teachers’ pre-training assessment Teachers’ assessment of their teaching materials regarding…

Teachers’ pre-training assessment  Most frequent challenges working with Roma students: Attendance, Roma children’s attitude, their attention span and preparation for school, parent participation in school life of their children, socialization and overcoming stereotypes and prejudices, integration of Roma pupils into society.  Greatest challenges teaching about Roma issues: lack of adequate materials and in their concern that as a result of poor training and knowledge they would end up dispelling prejudice; some also noticed the issue of self-identity of Roma children.  What kind of training would help when working with Roma students: learning about Roma history and culture, communication and cooperation with Roma parents, improving curricula and teaching methods, ways to motivate Roma children.  What would help when teaching about Roma culture and history: teaching materials on Roma culture and history, expert literature, magazines and films.

Teachers’ pre-training assessment How would you describe the relationship between Roma and other children in your classroom?

Teachers’ pre-training assessment How would you describe your relationship with the Roma-pupils’ parents?

Teachers’ self assessment: pre and post-training How confident do you feel when teaching Roma Children?

Teachers’ self assessment: pre and post-training How confident do you feel teaching about Roma issues?

Teachers’ self assessment: pre and post-training How confident do you feel about addressing any existing stereotypes/prejudices towards Roma in your classroom?

Teacher evaluations of the training modules and training overall (post-training questionnaire) – SLIDE 1 Teacher Expectations * Overall impression: INSETRom training was stimulating and interesting * 48% of teachers - expectations were fully met/ 30% somewhat. *Average score on a 1-4 scale was * Variations among countries * Main criticisms: teachers expected more concrete tools, materials and examples * Teachers expected more opportunities to share * Yahoo Group for teachers rarely used.

Teacher evaluations of the training modules and training overall (post-training questionnaire) – SLIDE 2 Rating of Modules Variables:Average teacher scores Usefulness1.57 Quality of Discussion1.40 Flexible structure1.70 Execution1.49 Level of effort requested1.87 Use of time1.54 Frequency1.49 Level of activity1.76 Practicality1.98 Applicability1.83

Conclusions: Barriers and Lessons learned BarriersPlans for overcoming the barriers Low school attendance of Roma - children causing them to fall behind academically Will continue in the same manner to resolve the problems Attitude that Roma parents have towards school and Roma pupils’ lack of care for school materials Partner with Roma parents, demonstrate patience and cooperation with Roma families; visit parents in their homes; organize the school environment so that children can leave their school materials at school Roma children’s learning difficultiesBe friendly, encouraging, approachable Lack of cooperation from other teachers and other pupils Build team cooperation with all teaching staff Lack of parental involvementPartner with Roma parents, visit Roma homes Roma cultureStay positive when facing potential issues Busy teacher schedules and constraints of curriculum and standard tests. Use the holidays; extracurricular activities; new, more flexible curriculum would help