“WHITE FLIGHT” IN CLUJ NAPOCA: SCHOOL SEGREGATION OF ROMA CHILDREN FROM PATA RÂT
Fernando VARGA [a] [b]
Analele Universității din București. Științe Politice [Annals of the University of Bucharest. Political Science series]
Vol. XXV, Issue 2, Online first
https://doi.org/10.54885/AUB-SP-SLPV6298
[b] Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Romania
One of the most severe issues faced by Roma communities in Romania is the struggle against school segregation and its catastrophic consequences. This article investigates the causes that have led to the segregation of Roma children from the Pata Rât community into a specific school in Cluj-Napoca, even though school segregation is illegal under current national and European legislation. The study is based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with various specialists familiar with the target population to observe the impact of this educational unit on children's education. The findings suggest certain parallels between the establishment of segregated schools in the United States (Los Angeles, 1960-1980) and those in Cluj-Napoca today, such as parental decisions, the quality of education, and racism. There are some exceptions, such as children who managed to enroll in another school in Cluj-Napoca and later risk being transferred to special schools due to a false diagnosis. The impact of this segregated school is evident in the declining quality of education, with many students graduating from the eighth grade without knowing how to read or write.
Keywords: School segregation, white flight, anti-Gypsyism, access to education, special schools
Fernando VARGA is doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
VARGA, Fernando. 2023. "White flight" in Cluj Napoca: School Segregation of Roma Children from Pata Rât. Analele Universității din București. Științe Politice [Annals of the University of Bucharest. Political Science series] XXV (2): Online first. https://doi.org/10.54885/AUB-SP-SLPV6298
DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
FUNDING
The author(s) received financial support for the research of this article from the EEA Grants 2014–2021, the project CONSENT: Cosmopolitan Turn and Democratic Sentiments. The case of child protection services, under the Project contract no. 11, EEA-RO-NO-2018-0586.
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