Roma Young People’s Perception of Intelligence and their Experience of Education

Abstract Roma young people are often subjected to oppression within formal educational spaces often linked to the idea that Roma young people are less intelligent than other young people. Intelligence is understood in the positionality of individual ideologies and could become a tool of powerful individuals and groups to create an ‘ideology of normal’ that grants permission to exclude Roma young people. This ‘normal’ view of intelligence can impact educational experiences. This study takes a phenomenological approach, using focus groups and diaries to explore what Roma young people perceive to be intelligence and how this perception could affect their education experiences including their motivation to engage in learning. The data exposes the oppressive culture Roma young people exist in and how racist ideologies of intelligence impact learning and wider opportunities. Roma young people from this study express a desire to achieve academically but value qualities, such as kindness and respect, which are perceived as intelligent behaviour. The study concludes that a recognition of the impact of professional relationships, such as youth work, is significant to challenge oppressive intelligence ideologies.