Resources

The last form of accepted racism?…

Sarah Dirrane 21 Jan 2025

I am incredibly excited to announce that my latest research has been published 🎉…but it was a hard topic to conduct research on. The systematic bullying and prejudice that families from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds face was stark. I was very privileged to be invited on to the Traveller sites and into the homes of these communities speaking to both the parents and young people about their experience of the educational system. It most often wasn’t a positive one.

It very much felt like they had been written off and forgotten by the system, merely because their belief systems were different from the status quo.

This research sheds light on the unique challenges faced by the UK Gypsy, Roma Traveller community in accessing education, and the groundbreaking initiatives, like the Lincolnshire Traveller Initiative (LTI), that are helping bridge the gap between traditional values and mainstream education. Without support and funding from organisations such as LiNCHigher this important work wouldn’t be able to go ahead.

📍 The publication of my article, “The Educational Experiences of the Traveller Community and Impact of Traveller-focused Initiatives,” is now live in the latest issue of the Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Journal!

🌟 Key Highlights:

1️⃣ Exploring the cultural barriers that prevent Traveller children from completing formal schooling.

2️⃣ How LTI’s flexible, culturally sensitive education model is empowering Traveller children to gain qualifications and explore new opportunities.

3️⃣ The importance of trust and collaboration when engaging with marginalised communities to ensure education is both accessible and effective.

This article is a must-read for educators, practitioners, and anyone passionate about educational equity and inclusion for GRT communities.



👉 Read the full article here

👉 Join our newsletter for educators and practitioners. My fieldwork diaries, a reflection of conducting fieldwork with these communities will be coming to an issue soon! Subscribe on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/dPfSJsN2 or sign up here to get it direct to your inbox!

👉 Listen to the episode of my podcast where I delve into wider issues of parity and access to higher education – Linkedin // Spotify // YouTube

👉 Find out more about the amazing work LTI is doing https://lincsti.co.uk/

👉 Visit the rest of our resource hub for more articles like this!


*…also the photo isn’t participants, but I would say a fair depiction of what some of the sites looked like 😊

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