How are education and minority status connected: The case of Romanian Roma in Wrocław

This paper aims to discuss the connection between compulsory schooling and minority status, and how they are related to differential performance of minorities in national education systems. After describing the theoretical framework based on the works of John Ogbu, I will attempt to present how his Cultural-Ecological Theory of School Performance refers to Romanian Roma community in Wrocław, Poland, which is a group systematically excluded from the dominant society. The analysis suggests that systemic forces act against Roma. This is marked by discrimination towards them in schools and in the labour market. On the side of Roma, mistrust in public institutions, fear of loosing cultural identity and seeing escaping the pariah status as unobtainable leads to lack of investment in formal education.