Problematics of Education, Social Policy and Employment of the Roma Ethnic Group in the Czech Republic

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Contemporary Politics and Society".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2022) | Viewed by 1723

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, Charles University, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: sociology; ethnicities; ethics; gender; Roma minority

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As many as 350,000 ethnic Roma live in the Czech Republic, according to qualified estimates. Yet, only a fraction of the Roma population has participated in higher education and are achieving success on careers within, and alongside, the majority of society. Better integration, some believe, can facilitate long-term community work and the vigorous removal of prejudice. It is a move that could appreciably effect the political landscape. Unfortunately, we encounter disunity among the Roma population themselves. This should change for an improved future. The current government concept for this purpose supports the development of Roma cultural and educational life.

The majority of citizens in the Czech Republic have differences in many respects, such as traditions, customs, family, and color. The diversity among the Romani people often means they find themselves in conflict with the majority of society in the Czech Republic. The severity of problems related to the Romani community is mainly caused by the fact that the Romani minority in the Czech Republic belongs to the lowest social group, with high unemployment, low levels of education and a disproportionately high share of crime compared with the total population. Intercultural education will contribute to improving existing and new approaches to education and training.

The issue of Roma social exclusion only by social work tools is doomed from the start, because social work renders only some symptomatic manifestations invisible, and does not eliminate the deep cause of social exclusion. Labor rejects the claim that those members of Czech society who object to the current arrangements and the so-called solutions to the “Roma issue” are racists. Criticism of government programs cannot be confused with racism under the pretext of false humanism. From the suggested point of view, there is no choice but to reject how the Czech government as a whole has so far "resolved" the Roma issue. This Special Issue seeks to present a new paradigm, exploring other strategies for addressing the Roma issue from level of children's education, presenting strategies different from those employed to date; as such, we will present strategies with authentic hope for real and lasting success.

This Special Issue seeks to introduce the issue of the Roma ethnic group in the Czech Republic, focusing on the following fields:

  • Education;
  • Social policy;
  • Hidden racism;
  • Segregation;
  • Social sciences;
  • Unemployment;
  • Intolerance;
  • Ethnics;
  • Roma social exclusion.

Dr. Marek Merhaut
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Roma minority
  • education
  • social policy
  • hidden racism
  • segregation
  • social sciences
  • unemployment
  • intolerance
  • ethnics
  • roma social exclusion

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 908 KiB  
Article
Social Services Management in the Context of Ethnic Roma Issues in the Czech Republic with a Focus on Education for Roma Children
by Marek Merhaut, Marie Fulkova and Lothar Filip Rudorfer
Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(10), 477; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11100477 - 14 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1439
Abstract
According to qualified estimates by sociologists, the Czech national census and governmental bodies in the EU, as many as 350,000 ethnic Roma people live in the Czech Republic. Yet, only a fraction of the Roma population has received higher education and are achieving [...] Read more.
According to qualified estimates by sociologists, the Czech national census and governmental bodies in the EU, as many as 350,000 ethnic Roma people live in the Czech Republic. Yet, only a fraction of the Roma population has received higher education and are achieving careers within and not alongside the majority society. Some believe that a more inclusive and integrative approach in education will facilitate long-term community work and better removal of prejudices. This represents quite a force that could appreciably affect the political landscape. Unfortunately, we run into the disunity of the Roma people among themselves, which brings more challenges to the forefront rather than solutions to the current status quo. This should change in the future. The current government concept for this purpose supports the development of Roma culture and education. This overview study should bring more arguments to the table regarding the need for Czech Romani/Roma intervention in education and social affairs. This overview article gives an insight into current Czech Roma/Romani education and social service-related issues. Full article
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