Mentoring, Counselling and Mediator Models to Improve the Educational Situation of Sinti and Roma in Germany

Abstract

This article presents the educational situation of Sinti and Roma in Germany. The members of this highly heterogeneous minority group differ not only in terms of the time of their immigration, their legal status and language, but also in terms of their educational participation and success. The only thing they have in common is that they can all be defined as disadvantaged when compared to an average German citizen. Since the 1990s, various mentoring, counselling and mediator programmes have been developed and implemented in Germany to improve the participation in education and the educational success of Sinti and Roma. The impact – for example the positive effects of self-chosen mentors and role models from the majority society or of Sinti and Roma educational mediators – has been proved by empirical studies. In order to further improve and strengthen these models, educational programmes for the professionalisation of mediators have been developed, such as the Hamburg Model or the ROMED Model.