Sinti/Roma educational assistance in primary school

The project

This initiative Sinti/Roma onderwijsassistent in het basisonderwijs (Sinti/Roma educational assistance in primary school) guided and trained members of the Sinti and Roma community in the Netherlands to become teaching assistants. Between 2005 and 2010 eight female participants were trained at primary schools in various municipalities in Limburg and Noord-Brabant provinces. The goal of the initiative was to increase the representation of Roma and Sinti community in education and to provide Roma and Sinti students with role models and cultural familiarity in schools.

Participation and attendance rates of Roma and Sinti children are very low in Dutch education institutions. Such patterns are reinforced by a lack of minority representation in the staff and boards of schools, which creates a negative spiral of low representation of students. Roma and Sinti communities are largely underrepresented in all facets of Dutch society, and limited attention is granted in public policy.  

This initiative aimed to increase participation and attendance rates and raise community awareness toward the values of education by training and guiding members of the community to become teacher assistants. Participants followed a teacher training one day a week and completed a traineeship at a primary school attended by Roma or Sinti children. They then took a preparatory course and were matched with a mentor for the duration of the project. Once their training was completed, which lasted between three to five years depending on participants’ prior experience, participants continued to receive guidance from external education experts and project managers.    

The impact of the good practice

Five out of eight of the participants finished the training which qualified them to start a job as a teaching assistant. Two of the eight participants obtained a fixed contract with a school and three of the eight participants work at a municipality. One participant went on to complete a traineeship and was making plans to enroll in teacher training.  

Another impact is that attendance and participation rates of Sinti and Roma pupils have increased in the participating provinces. In addition to their role as teaching assistance, the project’s participants represent the community as positive role models for children and youths from the Sinti and Roma community, in addition to increasing awareness of the importance of education within the larger community.