Against the Odds: Roma Population Schooling in Spain

Retention and achievement rates in the primary and secondary education of the Roma population in Spain have been historically much lower than the rates found in the general population. This continues to be the case, although some progress has been made in recent times. The situation is particularly diffi cult for Roma females, who face strong social, family and educational barriers in their studies. Yet they progress in the educational system at a higher level than Roma males. In this chapter I explore some of the reasons behind this paradox and extract a number of policy recommendations from this discussion.