Croatian as a Second Language - Faculty of Teacher Education Students' Views

Today Medimurje County has some 11,000 inhabitants belonging to the Roma national minority, with about 1,400 Roma pupils attending primary education and amounting up to 13% of the pupils in Medimurje (http://www.medjimurska-zupanija. hr/najnovije/u-predskolu-krenula-nova-generacija-ucenika-roma). Research in language and education shows that Roma pupils have insufficient or no knowledge of the Croatian language upon their enrolment into primary school. This makes it difficult for them to attend regular classes (Cvikic, 2007; Cvikic & Petroska, 2013; Turza-Bogdan & Ciglar, 2010). The education of the pupils at such an early age depends heavily on their teachers' competences; most of all the linguistic and teaching competences. We set out to investigate the attitudes of the Faculty of Teacher Education students on the issue of the education of Roma pupils that is carried out in Croatian, which is their second language. To investigate the issue we presented primary and preschool education students with a questionnaire prepared for the purposes of the study. The responses of the selected sample of students present their opinions and attitudes on the education of the Roma pupils, and point to the necessary increase in the future teachers' linguistic and teaching competences. We conclude by presenting some options to improve the quality of education of primary and preschool teachers with respect to the acquisition of Croatian as a second or foreign language as its crucial element.