Gypsy students in Catalonia (Spain): compensation with improvable cultural recognition

Abstract

The article starts from the premise that the school institution has generally failed to recognise cultural minorities and incorporate them into its everyday dynamic and curriculum. A greater incorporation of families and the recognition and incorporation of cultural diversity in schools are relevant points for favouring the processes of schooling. In this framework, the results of a survey of a sample of representatives from the management teams of primary schools (aged 6 to 12) in Catalonia (Spain) are presented. This focuses on the evolution of action to favour equal opportunities, identifying the extent to which cultural diversity is recognised in the documents in the schools and defining the actions in which this is taken into account. The results indicate that opportunities for Gitano pupils have worsened and that their presence in the schools does not mean greater recognition of their identity and culture but rather that there is a tendency to act in a compensatory way.