EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF REF PROJECTS AGAINST SEGREGATION IN SLOVAKIA
As of November 2009, REF had committed a total of EUR 622 790 to six projects implemented by four non-governmental organizations aimed at directly preventing and/or reversing the streaming of Romani children in special education in Slovakia. REF’s decision in early 2010 to commission a comparison of the different approaches supported to date in this area took into account three main factors:
1. Preventing/reversing segregation of Romani children in special education can be expected to remain a priority of REF activity in Slovakia for the foreseeable future.
2. The only external evaluation conducted to date on any of the projects aiming directly at prevention/reversal of segregation in Slovakia provided few quantitative data and no guidance on how the evaluated project might be improved in case of continuation.
3. The Slovak Ministry of Education’s expressed interest in the results of one such project suggests that it would be interested in receiving information also on like-minded projects supported by REF in Slovakia, such that the findings of a comparative evaluation of all such projects could serve as a starting point for developing a model in cooperation with the Slovak government.
The evaluation was conducted in mid 2010 under the leadership of Marek F. Hojsík of the Roma Institute in Bratislava, who was selected through an open tender procedure.
The evaluation report is available for download in English and Slovak versions, please click HERE, for the Slovak version , and HERE for the English version.
