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Greek Roma in Higher Education: Perceptions and Experiences of Educational Success

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Advancing Multicultural Dialogues in Education

Abstract

Gkofa examines the stories of educational success amongst Greek Roma. This is a chapter those who are and who are not recognised. The Roma in Greece experience high dropout rates from education, but the author offers hope with empirical data suggesting this picture is far from universal. The author takes entrance into higher education as a marker of educational success of which few Roma have achieved. By applying Bourdieu’s theories of cultural capital, Gkofa interviewed twenty Roma who were found through gatekeepers. The data focuses on the respondents’ perceptions and experiences of success. The notion of success was understood in multiple ways with one of the major themes being internal cultivation. The author highlights how feelings of success are complex within notions of ‘othering’ and gender. Furthermore, complexity is underlined in the author’s conclusions whereby some participants presented themselves as successful while others did not.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College, University of London, London, UK

    Panagiota Gkofa

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  1. Panagiota Gkofa
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  1. School of Education, University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom

    Richard Race

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Gkofa, P. (2018). Greek Roma in Higher Education: Perceptions and Experiences of Educational Success. In: Race, R. (eds) Advancing Multicultural Dialogues in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60558-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60558-6_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60557-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60558-6

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