joost de laat senior economist human development world bank [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
TOWARD AN EQUAL START: CLOSING THE EARLY LEARNING GAP FOR ROMA CHILDREN IN
EASTERN EUROPE (2012)
Joost de LaatSenior EconomistHuman DevelopmentWorld [email protected]
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DATA SOURCE: UNDP/WORLD BANK/EC REGIONAL ROMA HOUSEHOLD SURVEY (2011)
Survey Partnership: ◦ DG Regional Policy◦ United Nations Development Program ◦ World Bank
Close coordination with survey by:◦ Fundament Rights Agency
Interviewed approx 750 Roma households and 350 non-Roma households in same communities in 5 Eastern European countries
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What do the EU 2020 Goals Mean for A Roma Girl in Eastern Slovakia?
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3 Generations …. Of Change?
Tera Fabianova, Slovak Roma writer and poet, 1930 – 2007:
“No-one in my family could read and write. I would go and work as a little girl for the “Gadji” for a piece of bread and lard. One day they came to tell us to go to school. 'One from each family must go to school or you'll be locked up.' My mother said, 'You'll go 'cos you're naughty.'”
"I sat in the first row, because I wanted to be clever, and near the teacher. I didn't have a pencil or paper or anything. I sat and waited for the teacher. She came and said, 'Hey, you, Gypsy kid. Your place is at the back.' There were three benches where the Romany and poorest children sat. I wasn't allowed to sit at the front. But I wanted to be clever, wanted to learn."
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3 Generations …. Of Change?
◦ More than 80% of Roma parents want secondary education for girls.
◦ Uncollected garbage and shacks still common. ◦ Most—87%—of Roma households are in poverty ◦ One third goes hungry at least once a month. ◦ The girl in the picture has an 18% chance of being
enrolled in preschool, compared to 72% of the general population.
◦ Between 12%-15% of Roma children are streamed into primary schools for children with mental disabilities.
◦ Odds of graduating secondary school are 9%. ◦ She is unlikely to find work: only 9% of women and 20%
of men living in settlements work.◦ Similar situation in neighboring countries
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SURVEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS
BulgariaCzech
RepublicHungary Romania Slovakia
Go to Bed Hungry (%) 44.4 23.5 35.4 56.2 39.9
Unsafe Economic Situation (%) 61.5 54.0 70.7 67.2 56.2
Social Assistance (%) 16.6 60.7 59.8 26.8 55.6
Monthly Disposable Income per Capita:
Roma (€)a 62 190 102 35 125General Population (€)b 148 398 285 134 291
Roma Incomes Relative to General Population (%) 41.9 47.7 35.8 26.1 43.0
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions
INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE: INVEST EARLY
Walker et al. The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9799, Pages 1325 - 1338
Figure 1
Source: The Lancet 2011; 378:1339-1353 (DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60889-1)
Terms and Conditions
INVEST EARLY TO REDUCE INEQUALITIES
Engle et al. (2011)The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9799, Pages 1339 - 1353
Figure 3
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test7 standard scores by country and quintile of expenditure. Data for children (aged 5–6 years) speaking the majority language of the region or country (in parentheses).
INVEST EARLY TO REDUCE INEQUALITIES
Engle et al. (2011)The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9799, Pages 1339 - 1353
DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE OUTCOMES BY QUINTILE (LANCET (2011)
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Gap in Early Learning Outcomes
BulgariaCzech
Republic Hungary Romania Slovakia
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
24%27%
20%
12%
31%29%
43%38%
47% 45%
Roma Non-Roma
BulgariaCzech
Republic Hungary Romania Slovakia
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
61%66% 64%
49%
66%
94% 91%83%
79%
90%
Roma Non-RomaRead at least four simple, popular words? Recognize the symbols for numbers
1 to 10?
Figure 3
Terms and Conditions
FINDINGS FROM LANCET (2011) REVIEW
Inequality in early childhood: risk and protective factors for early child development (2011)
Inequalities in child development begin prenatally and in the first years of life
The most effective and cost-efficient time to prevent inequalities is early in life before trajectories have been firmly established
Action or lack of action will have lifetime consequences for adult functioning
Walker et al. The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9799, Pages 1325 - 1338
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THIS REPORT ON IMPROVING EARLY LEARNING AND PRE-SCHOOL ACCESS FOR
ROMA CHILDREN International evidence: high return investment
Survey: vast majority Roma parents desire at
least secondary education completion for
children
Report objectives:
◦ Provide overview of Roma preschool participation, and
pre-school environment, in kindergartens and at home
◦ Identify key barriers to improving pre-school access
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CHALLENGED HOME LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
BulgariaCzech
RepublicHungary Romania Slovakia
Number of books at home
Mean 1.8 7.0 7.2 1.2 2.6
Median 0 5 4 0 1
Activities with children, past 3 daysLook at picture books or read books
23% 50% 57% 17% 44%
Draw or paint 21% 51% 42% 19% 45%
Teach letters or count 15% 21% 29% 12% 22%
Limited to households with children aged 3-5 years old.
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PRESCHOOL LINKED TO LATER LIFE OUTCOMES
Roma adults who attended preschool as children are/were:
Much less likely to enrol into special school : 6 ppts in Czech Republic and 7 ppts in Slovakia
Much more likely to complete secondary school 13 ppts (Slovakia) to 16 ppts (Romania)
Less likely to be on social assistance as adults 7 ppts (Romania) to 17 ppts (Hungary)
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Enrollment among Roma children: very large gap
OVERVIEW OF PRE-SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
Bulgaria Czech Republic
Slovakia Hungary Romania0
102030405060708090
100
Pre-School Enrollment Rates
Roma average (2011) National average (2009-10)
CZ and SK: 3-5 year olds; BG, HU, RO: 3-6 year olds
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ESTIMATING DETERMINANTS OF PRESCHOOL ENROLMENT
Comparing neighbors with similar socio-economic
chars, pre-school increases with:
Parents’ attendance of pre-school
Household hunger
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DETERMINANTS OF PRE-SCHOOL ENROLMENT
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Reasons for Not Enrolling Children in Pre-School
Bulgaria
Czech Repub-lic
Slovakia
Hungary
Romania
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DETERMINANTS OF PRE-SCHOOL ENROLMENT
Bulgaria Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania0%5%
10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%
Roma Parents Reporting 'Too Expensive' as Reason for Not Enrolling Their Child
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MANY PARENTS RECONSIDER PRESCHOOL IF FREE AND WITH ROMA TEACHING ASST:
020
4060
8010
0Fr
ee a
ttend
ance
- re
cons
ider
Bulgaria Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania
Yes MaybeNo
020
4060
8010
0Ro
ma
med
iato
r - re
cons
ider
Bulgaria Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania
Yes MaybeNo
Free attendance - reconsider Roma teacher/mediator - reconsider
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1. (1) provide parents basic information on the
benefits of preschool education
2. (2) promote inclusive preschools by
enhancing parental involvement and hiring
Roma teaching assistants
3. (3) remove cost barriers possibly coupled
with regular attendance subsidies
4. (4) support parenting at home
INCREASE PRE-SCHOOL ENROLMENT:
