Roma in higher education: A case study of successful trajectories in the University of Seville

While Spain enjoys international recognition for its model of integration of Roma people, the few existing statistics report systemic inequality between Roma and non-Roma populations regarding participation in post-compulsory education. The article presents the initiatives developed in Spain to tackle this situation, and questions the widely extended idea of Roma culture as opposed to education. Though economic measures are necessary to improve the situation of young Roma at risk of exclusion, the focus of this paper emphasises the successful trajectories of Roma in the university settings. This approach is useful when exploring the factors based on their academic success, but it also provides new role models for their ethnic group. Hence, a case study of successful paths in higher education of three Roma students and three Roma graduates has been carried out. The biographical-narrative interview is used for this purpose with a focus on the analysis of these topics: a) family background, b) school experiences, c) construction of identity, and d) experiences in higher education. The results show common and differential features in the analysed trajectories. In all cases, participants were raised in a "normalized" context and several of them had previous models in the family. Education is perceived as necessary for social progress in the immediate family but as a risk of << apayamiento >> in the extended family. The process of building up their identities proves to be complex and it demands an active compromise and questioning on the side of the respondents. In addition, their educational experience, including higher education, is characterised by an << apparent normality >>, that is an acceptance based more on their similarities with the non-Roma group than in the recognition of their difference.