More successful integration of Roma children into the education system

We analyzed the performance of Roma students in primary education in Slovenia based on quantitative data obtained from selected primary schools (PS). A total of 27 schools were included in the analysis, where Roma assistants worked during the five-year period under review (2016/17–2020/21). Data on Roma and non-Roma pupils at these schools were collected in anonymized and aggregated form as part of the Together for Knowledge project. The division into Roma and non-Roma pupils is based on assessments of the ethnic affiliation of pupils carried out by the schools themselves.
We analyzed the data at the national level (all 27 elementary schools) and, due to the significant socioeconomic, cultural, and other differences between Slovenian Roma in different parts of the country, also at the level of two smaller regions—northeastern (NE) and southeastern (SE) Slovenia. The NE includes Roma pupils from the Prekmurje and Maribor areas, while the SE includes the so-called Dolenjska Roma – Roma pupils from the Dolenjska, Posavje, Bela Krajina, and Kočevsko areas. Twelve primary schools from the NE part of the country and 15 primary schools from SE Slovenia were included in the analysis (Table 1). The data for the selected primary schools also include branch schools, with the exception of Primary School II Murska Sobota, where data for the branch school Krog are only taken into account for the 2016/17 school year.