Do gitano students feel discriminated against in their social and academic surroundings? A survey of schools in Granada, Spain

Abstract

This paper aims to study the perception of 208 students [37 gitanos (gypsies), 138 payos (non-gypsies), 22 mixed ethnicity (gitano-payo), and 8 other ethnicities] in areas and schools with gitano populations in the City and Province of Granada, Spain, considering nine factors related to the segregation, discrimination and racism towards the gitano community. A questionnaire with a Likert scale of 1–5 points was utilised to understand the perceptions of the respondents on the controlled variables and the reasons for their opinions. This study also gathered students’ ideas on ways to help improve integration and social acceptance of the gitano minority. Perceptions of students (especially those of gitano and mixed gitano-payo ethnicity) show that despite efforts towards social inclusion, discriminatory beliefs and practices still linger and need to be actively reduced.

Keywords:

• Discrimination
• racism
• Roma
• gypsy
• gitano

Notes

1. In this article, we are intentionally using the Spanish terms used by the Roma, or Romani people in Spain, in order to represent their perspectives. They use the term ‘gitano’ to refer to themselves and ‘payo’ to refer to anyone else. The English translation of gitano – ‘gypsy’ – has a negative connotation that is not evident in the Spanish word as used in Spain.