Roma teachers’ resilience: A sociological study of life course experiences and professional impact

• Inequalities have crept upwards between Roma and non-Roma students in Hungary. • Teacher resiliency is coming from a socially disadvantaged or ethnic minority family. • Teacher resiliency is supporting disadvantaged or ethnic minority students. • Resilient Roma teachers actively draw on their life course in teaching practice. • Overcoming hardship can serve as a vital resource in the teaching profession. Ensuring equity for Roma students remains a critical concern across many countries. Roma teachers play an essential role in addressing this issue. Their life course experiences offer invaluable insights into the barriers faced by students from similar backgrounds. This study investigates the lives of Roma teachers who have demonstrated resilience, defined here as the capacity to succeed despite adverse circumstances. The study addresses two research questions: RQ1: What resources and obstacles characterized the life courses of Roma teachers on their way to obtaining a degree? RQ2: What markers does the legacy of the “resilient life course” leave in teachers’ current educational practice, and do these experiences manifest themselves as obstacles or resources? Given the uniqueness of the target group, we employed snowball sampling. 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted in Hungary between 2019 and 2023. The interviews focused on both the participants’ biographical experiences of resilience and their pedagogical work. Data were analysed using thematic analysis following Brown and Clarke’s guidelines. Findings suggest that resilient Roma teachers actively draw on their life course experiences in their teaching practice. A strong sense of mission – shaped by the experience of succeeding against the odds – appears to sustain long-term professional engagement. The present study argues that overcoming hardship can serve as a vital resource in the teaching profession. The insights generated have implications for teacher education programs, particularly in preparing educators from underrepresented backgrounds. Furthermore, the findings inform education policy by highlighting the value of lived experience in fostering inclusive and equitable school environments.