The influence of social capital on the educational attainment of roma persons: Evidence from a qualitative study in Romania

Abstract

As the largest ethnic minority in Europe, Roma persons are among the groups with the lowest levels of educational attainment. In Romania, the country with the highest number of Roma persons of all the EU Members States, the situation is even worse, each higher level of education revealing an increasing gap between Roma persons and the general population. Positioned within the framework of Social Capital theory, the current chapter explores the influences of micro- and mezzo-level social networks on educational attainment of Roma persons, trying to explain some of the mechanisms that perpetuate the gap between them and the general population, in terms of educational attainment. Drawing on a qualitative bottom-up study of Roma persons' experiences of belonging in society, we analysed the interlocking influences of bonding and bridging social capital on the interviewees' educational attainment. The results of the study point out that both forms of social capital have an important impact on the educational attainment of persons in vulnerable groups, although in different ways, and sometimes they can be mutually reinforcing, depending on the prevailing social arrangements, in either keeping the persons engaged in education, or drawing them away from their educational paths. The results also show that in circumstances of intersecting vulnerabilities, a noticeable imbalance between agency and structure is produced, which corrodes the foundational principles of equity and affects the equality of opportunities.