Romani language in education

Background

Policy context

Despite the Council of Europe's decades-long engagement with Romani issues, the educational inclusion of Romani children and adolescents continues to present major challenges. Successive recommendations from the Committee of Ministers are clear about the political principles and social values that should shape policy, and equally clear about the outcomes that policy implementation should achieve. Very few of them, however, concern themselves with those aspects of policy that shape classroom practice.

In 2018–2019 a Council of Europe expert group set out to elaborate more detailed guidance, proposing new ways of managing the educational inclusion of Romani children and adolescents. The group's proposals — which have implications for the educational inclusion of other linguistic and cultural minorities — are based on the Council of Europe's concept of plurilingual and intercultural education, which is the focus of Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1.

The Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR)

The Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR) and related resources were developed as part of the Council of Europe's comprehensive response to Roma and Traveller issues, in close cooperation with the European Roma and Travellers Forum and with partial funding from Finland. The CFR is designed for policy makers, textbook writers, teacher educators and teachers. It uses the descriptive categories and common reference levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), aligning it with the wider language education policies of the Council of Europe.

The CFR defines proficiency in Romani at CEFR levels A1, A2, B1 and B2, covering the activities of listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing across eleven themes: Myself and my family; The house/caravan and its activities; My community; At school; Food and clothes; Festivals and celebrations; Travel and transport; Time, seasons, weather; Nature and animals; Roma crafts and professions; Hobbies and the arts. It addresses three age groups (3–6, 6–11 and 11–16) and three learner profiles: those already proficient in Romani; those who hear Romani at home but are not proficient; and those from Roma communities for whom Romani is not a home language.

To support implementation of the CFR, two versions of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) — for learners aged 6–11 and 11–16 — and a Teacher's Handbook were developed in close cooperation with the European Roma and Travellers Forum to ensure cultural relevance. These tools are available in ten languages.

See Key Resources for all language versions.

Intergovernmental seminars

Two intergovernmental seminars brought together ministry of education representatives and Roma educators to introduce and further develop the CFR and its associated tools.

First Seminar, Strasbourg, 31 May – 1 June 2007 — Representatives from 11 member states were introduced to the CFR, discussed its potential applications, and agreed to undertake small-scale pilot projects in preparation for a larger seminar in 2008.

Seminar report

Seminarosko Raporto

by David Little:

Introduction to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and its action-oriented approach to the definition of communicative proficiency

Introductija ando Evropako Khetano Referencijako Kadro pal e Čhiba thaj leske akcijako-orientisardo modo vaš i definicija e komunikacijake žanimaki

Piloting the Curriculum Framework for Romani

Pilotacija e Kurrikulake Kadroski vaš i Romani

by Barbara Lazenby Simpson:

An introduction to the Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR)

Introdukcija ke Kurrikulako Kadro vaš i Romani (KKR)

Using the Curriculum Framework for Romani as a teaching/learning tool

Keren buti e Kurrikulake Kadrosa vaš i Romani sar sikavimasko/siklimasko instrumento

Second Seminar, 27–28 November 2008 — Representatives from 17 member states reviewed pilot-project reports, examined revised versions of the CFR, both ELPs and the Teacher's Handbook, and discussed future actions.

Seminar Report
Seminarosko Raportaro

Seminar Programme (with links to presentations)
Seminarosko Programo

Complementary presentation : Présentation du Cadre curriculaire pour le romani à l’occasion d’une conférence sur les langues de scolarisation à Strasbourg (juin 2009) (available only in French)

The QualiRom project (2010–2013) - as part of the ECML activities

The Quality Education in Romani for Europe (QualiRom) project was carried out between 2010 and 2013 under the European Commission's Key Actions 2 programme. Co-funded by the EU, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Federal Chancellery of Austria Volksgruppenförderung, and the Finnish National Board of Education, it was hosted by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML). Building directly on the CFR and the ELPs, its purposes were to develop learning materials suitable for use with these instruments and to provide training for participating teachers of Romani. Materials were developed, piloted and published online in six Romani varieties: Arlije, East Slovak, Finnish, Gurbet, Lovara and Kalderaš.

In 2015 the ECML launched QualiRom Training and Consultancy to promote quality education in Romani within a human rights perspective, offering training on the use of QualiRom materials and consultancy on curriculum development using the CFR.

Romani Plurilingual Policy Experimentation (RPPE) (2022-2025)

About the RPPE

Launched in March 2022, the Romani-Plurilingual Policy Experimentation (RPPE) applies the Council of Europe's concept of plurilingual and intercultural education to the educational inclusion of Roma pupils in primary schools in Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia. Working with ten primary schools across these three countries, the RPPE explores ways of using Romani language and culture to further Roma pupils' educational inclusion. Implementation ran across three school years: 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.

Two guiding principles

The RPPE's actions are shaped by two principles fundamental to the Council of Europe's work in language education:

Language learners of all ages are also language users — social agents with their own agenda to fulfil.

Language education should take account of all languages present in a given educational context and help learners to develop integrated plurilingual repertoires and intercultural awareness.

The pedagogical implications of these principles are elaborated in the RPPE Handbook, available in English, Greek, Slovak and Slovenian.

RPPE Handbook → See Key Resources

How the RPPE worked

After a preparatory phase that concluded with a formal online launch conference in March 2022, participating schools drew up action plans and began implementation under the guidance of their national coordinators. Schools were supported through regular online meetings with their national coordinator and with the RPPE's academic coordinator, Professor David Little, who also held regular meetings with individual schools.

Participating schools

The Romani-Plurilingual Policy Experimentation (RPPE) involved ten primary schools from three Council of Europe member states: three from Greece, three from Slovakia, and four from Slovenia. Working with these primary schools, the RPPE’s purpose was to explore ways of using Romani language and culture to further the educational inclusion of Roma pupils. RPPE was implemented during the following academic years: 2022/2023, 2023/2024, 2024/2025.

A summary introduction to the schools can be found on the dedicated pages for each country:

Greece

4th Primary School of Amaliada
12th Primary School of Komotini
10th Primary School of Nea Ionia, Volos

Slovakia

Elementary school Vilka Šulekova
Elementary school Ľ. Podjavorinskej, Košice
Elementary school Alapiskola, Vyškovce nad Ipľom

Slovenia

Frana Metelka Škocjan Basic School
France Prešeren Črenšovci Basic School
Janko Padežnik Basic School, Maribor
Leskovec pri Krškem Basic School

RPPE closing conference

The Romani-Plurilingual Policy Experimentation (RPPE) concluded with a closing conference in Bratislava on 3-4 June 2025, co-organised by the Council of Europe and the Slovak Ministry of Education. The event highlighted practical examples of inclusive, plurilingual, and intercultural education that support democratic culture, aligning with the Council of Europe's recommendations on the importance of plurilingual and intercultural education for democratic culture (CM/Rec(2022)1). Participating schools and national representatives from Greece, Slovakia, and Slovenia shared successful approaches for integrating Romani language and culture into primary education, promoting educational inclusion and linguistic diversity.

Please visit the conference page to see the conference highlights, interviews and presentations.

Recent publications

Final report

Policy Guidelines

A pedagogical guide

Key resources

Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR)

English: Curriculum Framework for Romani

Romani: Sicarimasko Plano palaj Romani Chib

Czech: Rámcová osnova pro výuku romského jazyka

German: Ein Rahmenlehrplan für Romani

Greek: Πλαίσιο Αναλυτικού Προγράμματος Σπουδών για τα Ρομανί

Lovari: O siťárimasko pláno paj rrománi šib

North Central Romani: E štruktura, sar te sikhľarel e romaňi čhib

Serbian: Kurikularni okvir za učenje romskog jezika

Slovak: Rámcový vzdelávací program rómskeho jazyka

Slovenian: Okvir učnega načrta za romski jezik

European Language Portfolio (ELP)

RPPE Resources

The RPPE’s actions are shaped by two principles that are fundamental to the Council of Europe’s work in language education: (i) language learners of all ages are also language users, social agents with their own agenda to fulfil; and (ii) language education should take account of all the languages present in a given educational context and help learners to develop integrated plurilingual repertoires and intercultural awareness. The pedagogical implications of these principles are elaborated in the RPPE handbook, which is also available in Greek, Slovak, and Slovenian.

Education