Learning who they ‘really’ are: from stigmatization to opportunities to learn in Greek Romani education

This chapter explores the learning and life experiences of a vulnerable minority group—the Rom of Greece—in the context of an historical, multidimensional theory of stigmatization. Despite extensive public attention, legal decisions at every level, and the formation of countless working groups and commissions, most Rom across the EU remain mired in poverty and prejudice, a conspicuous component of which is school segregation. The Rom entered Europe through Greece and have lived there for a millennium, always at the margins of society. We examine two cases of social and school exclusion in Greece, and two cases of relative social and educational success, with the purpose of highlighting the difficulties involved in undoing an enduring ethnic stigma. Recent research on the structure and processes of stigmatization provide a framework for understanding how low social status, and poor treatment, of stigmatized populations is maintained and legitimated. The persistent experience of stigma limits opportunities, in often-irreversible social, psychological fashion, for young Rom to learn and prosper.