The ENGAGE project (Project Number: 2024-1-IT02-KA220-SCH-000249540) has been co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
Luminita is an 11-year-old Roma girl living in a small, marginalized community on the outskirts of a northeastern Romanian town. Her family lives in deep poverty, with irregular work opportunities and overcrowded living conditions. The primary language spoken at home is Romani, and Romanian is a secondary language for her, leading to expressive and receptive language delays.
At school, Luminita is quiet and reserved. She avoids answering questions aloud and struggles to articulate her thoughts in Romanian. She rarely participates in group activities and often withdraws when asked to speak or read. Teachers describe her as “invisible” in class — not disruptive but disengaged. However, in creative tasks like drawing or singing, she demonstrates emotional depth and artistic sensitivity.
Her family does not actively support her schooling. Education is not a cultural priority, especially for girls, and she is often absent to care for younger siblings or help with household chores. Despite this, Luminita expresses a quiet desire to stay in school and shows joy when working on creative projects where she feels safe and unjudged.
The educational team's assessment of Luminita's behavior clearly highlighted the student's disengagement: her withdrawal in class, her lack of participation in group work, her unfinished assignments, her limited interactions with peers and teachers, her lack of self-confidence, and her frequent absences due to family demands.
A proactive approach would promote better behavior management, which could lead to a reduction in her isolation, better class participation, and a strengthening of the teacher-student bond.
Luminita's language difficulties, due to her lack of fluency in Romanian and her family environment, for which school is not a priority, were taken into account by the educational team.
Student
"Sometimes I want to speak in class, but I'm scared I'll say something wrong. I understand better when I can explain myself. I like school… but only when no one laughs or talks about me, my clothes, from behind. At home, I help my family a lot. Sometimes I don't have time for homework."
Teachers
"Luminita is incredibly quiet, almost invisible during regular lessons. There's something special in her, but it's buried under fear, silence, and low confidence. She needs consistent support and a space where her voice feels safe."
“She fades into the background, I wish we could reach her more often or have more time for her.”
School Leaders
"Luminita’s situation reflects a larger challenge in reaching Roma girls through traditional education models. We must involve her family more and create culturally responsive learning opportunities. Otherwise, we risk losing her to silence and social expectations that don't value her staying in school."
Parents
"We don't think girls need to study so much. It's enough if they know how to read, write a little, and help around the house. Luminita helps with her younger siblings and chores - that’s more useful for her future. We’ve joined some school meetings before, but honestly, school is not a big priority in our family."
“School is not everything. Girls should help at home and learn how to manage a household. That’s more useful in our family.”
Family impact, peer influence, and environment are topics addressed within the educational community. Personal factors are also considered, but parental disengagement and cultural resistance to continued educational engagement pose a barrier to assessment.
The educational community highlights the difficulties of implementing support strategies, as parental involvement is minimal and there are no specific or structured programs for identifying and supporting Roma students. Parents do not recognize their child's difficulties (self-confidence or isolation issues) and show limited interest in the support options offered by the school. Lack of communication with teachers and peers, absences, and a Roma family environment that limits the scope of support initiatives (the family prioritizes household responsibilities over academic success).
Luminita's aspirations are not considered by the family (her desire to better understand lessons, her lack of self-confidence, her difficulties expressing herself in Romanian, her creativity): the student must be torn between the demands of school and the cultural aspirations of the family.
Her case demonstrates the need to find support solutions for these students with significant cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional difficulties. But these solutions can only be found by establishing a relationship of trust with the family.