CVEK

The research has been carried out in co-operation with the Roma Education Fund. The purpose of this study was to analyze the overrepresentation of Roma in special education in Slovakia. Following a common structure and methodology developed by the Roma Education Fund in consultation with ERRC andEUMAP to produce comparable data from a set of three country studies (i.e., Czech Republic, Serbia, and Slovakia), this study consisted of two main parts.

The first part of the study addressed five research objectives common to all three country studies:

1. Estimating the number of Romani pupils enrolled in special education;

2. Mapping the educational options of Romani pupils from compact, segregated Romani settlements;

3. Comparing the standard and reduced curricula used in mainstream and special education, respectively;

4. Juxtaposing the opportunities for further education and employment accessible to graduates of special education with those available to graduates of mainstream education; and

5. Conducting a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing special and mainstream education from the standpoint of state expenditures

Whereas the first part of the study was structured in such a way as to maximize comparability across the three country studies, the study’s second part focused on features of the education system in Slovakia which distinguish it from its counterparts in the Czech Republic and Serbia. Topics addressed in the second part of the study included:

1. The structure of enrollment incentives offered to special schools and Romani parents;

2. The complex of institutions with a role in maintaining the status quo in relation to special education; and

3. The mechanisms used for assessment and reassessment of scholastic competence; as well as

4. Recommendations directed at reversing the overrepresentation of Roma in special education in Slovakia.