Purpose:
The Project's main objective is to promote the educational and social inclusion of Roma children and young people through intercultural mediation between families and educational institutions. The intervention focuses on building trust-based relationships, personalised student support to ensure positive outcomes, promoting Roma culture, and preventing school dropout.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The Oeiras Local Security Contract results from an agreement between the Ministry of Internal Administration and the Municipality of Oeiras with the aim of intervening early to promote the safety conditions of the population and protection of the citizens in most vulnerable situations. The Municipality of Oeiras understands security in the broadest sense, as a fundamental right of citizens. As such, the intervention developed within the scope of the Oeiras Local Security Contract aims to contribute to the reduction of existing problems and social vulnerabilities and invest in primary intervention processes to intervene early and effectively in the inclusion of populations as a means of preventing violence and crime, covering the greatest number of children and young people as possible.
Therefore, within the scope of its intervention, a set of projects are being developed in areas such as culture, sport, environment, safety, or active aging, with the aim of intervening, in a preventive manner, in the inclusion of diverse populations and promoting a better quality of life.
For the full development of the intervention, coordination with other entities and the establishment of partnerships are essential to face the challenges posed, in a multidisciplinary, concerted, and participatory way.
As part of the Oeiras Local Security Contract, Intercultural Mediation has been under development since January 2025. This project stems from a need identified by several partners in the region and the community for more targeted responses for the resident Roma population.
This Project is part of the Municipality's PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan), within Component “Disadvantaged Communities”, and is developed by Roma association TECHARI – Associação Nacional e Internacional Cigana, in the priority intervention territory of the Oeiras Local Security Contract: Carnaxide Municipal Housing neighbourhood.
Process:
The Intercultural Mediation Project aims to promote inclusion, educational success, and conflict mediation in schools, with a focus on the Roma community. The project implies the permanent presence of four mediators (two men and two women, to ensure representation) who act as a bridge between students, families, and the educational community. They work at the Sophia de Mello Breyner and Amélia Vieira Luís Schools, part of the Carnaxide-Portela School Group.
The intervention focuses on building trusting relationships, personalised student support, promoting Roma culture, and preventing dropout and school failure.
The Project's other objectives are:
- Improve dialogue between schools, families, and the Roma community.
- Prevent and mediate situations of school conflict and absenteeism.
- Support students in their integration, learning, and continued attendance in school.
- Promote Roma identity and culture in the educational environment.
- Contribute to academic success and equity in access to education.
The methodology is based on daily and ongoing work at both schools, with activities such as:
- Individualised monitoring of students in vulnerable situations.
- Regular meetings with teachers and school administration.
- Direct contact with families, promoting communication and raising awareness about the importance of education.
- Mediation in situations of conflict or absenteeism.
- Awareness-raising activities on Roma rights, responsibilities, and culture.
- Support for the organisation of school activities involving the Roma community.
The project's main target audience is:
- Students from the Roma community, aged 3 to 18.
- Families of students, accompanied by mediators.
- Teachers, teaching assistants, and school administration, who benefit from support in mediation and communication with families.
Impact:
Several monitoring meetings were held throughout the Project, as well as a final evaluation meeting with the Group Director. Accordingly, and in terms of the intervention carried out, it is possible to conclude that:
- The fact that mediators delivered school letters personally to parents/guardians, informing them of absenteeism and raised awareness among parents about the importance of school, significantly contributed to children and young people returning to school.
- Likewise, the Project significantly contributed to a closer relationship between the school and families, creating, as the Class Director mentioned, "a more peaceful environment".
- The role of these mediators/facilitators was very well received by parents and students, who accepted the intervention. The school also reports that the mediators' monitoring was very close, being present throughout the school, in the playground, cafeteria, and classrooms, seen as a necessary monitoring for attendance. According to the school, the presence of these mediators in the cafeteria also provided greater respect for queues and a peaceful lunchtime environment.
- The idea is further reinforced that, in the presence of mediators, no conflicts or problems arose, as the students always viewed them with respect. At this level, the school emphasises that a significant difference is noticeable, considering the presence of these mediators in the school environment as essential.
- The presence of mediators and the families' trust in them allowed children and young people from Roma communities to participate in study visits, which had not happened before, thus enjoying and benefiting from unique experiences and opportunities.
Likewise, a questionnaire was sent to the Head Teachers/Directors of the different classes of the School Group, with the sample consisting of a total of 21 teachers: 9 Head Teachers (1st Cycle), 5 Head Teachers of the 2nd Cycle, 6 Head Teachers of the 3rd Cycle and 1 Teacher of PIEF 2/3.
After analysing the questionnaires, the results show that:
- 100% of teachers reported that, after 6 months, they felt the Project had brought benefits to the School Community, namely:
- Improvement in student behaviour during breaktimes (90.5% of responses).
- Improvement of relationships between students (57.1% of responses).
- Reduction in absenteeism rates and reduction in the number of disciplinary offenses (both with 42.9% of responses).
- Greater appreciation for the school by students in these communities (38.1% of responses).
- Improved relationships between students and teachers; Improved relationships between students and non-teaching staff; and Improved punctuality (33.3% of responses).
- Improved student behaviour in the classroom (23.8% of responses).
- 100% of the Teachers consider that the Project and its respective initiatives were able to help improve the relationship between school, families of the Roma community and students, as it contributed, among other things, to improving communication between teachers and families, valuing the school and combating absences by these students; reducing conflicts during recess and the number of disciplinary absences, and providing a greater understanding of the experiences of Roma communities.
- Regarding the awareness-raising activities carried out, 71.4% of teachers believe they were beneficial in bringing students from different communities closer together, and 81% in bringing the school closer to families and vice versa. This is because they contribute to a greater understanding of the culture and history of the Roma community, its traditions and customs, with the goal of greater integration into the school community, deconstructing stereotypes, and fostering respect and appreciation for cultural diversity.
- In terms of evaluating the actions of intercultural facilitators, 66.7% considered it to be positive and 28.6% considered it to be very positive.
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