Development of positive psychological capital at a Roma Student College

Abstract

The aim of our study is to present different kinds of obstacles that hindered the successful educational progress of our Roma university student interviewees from disadvantaged backgrounds. The theme is equality and equity, which is examined in the context of inclusion, empowerment, resilience and intersectionality (Varga, 2017), and to investigate their effect on positive power of performance, the positive psychological capital. Our research sample consists of the community members of the diverse Roma Student College of Pécs. The studied university students are considered resilient (Masten, Herbers, Cutuli, & Lafavor, 2008), as they have overcome the hardships of their family background and learn in higher education. Our study gives an analysis of 27 life-path interviews conducted in 2017. In these life-path interviews, we have found the external sources of resilience: supportive families, models of friends and siblings, and teachers' support as well. The intrinsic changes of personality have been prominent in the narratives, which could often balance out the negative effects with the positive psychological capital. The “building blocks” of this capital (Luthans et al., 2007) can be detected at common points in walk of life interviews, such as positive self-image, motivation, goal-orientation, and conscious planning. The positive role of the Roma Student College community appeared in their narratives as a strikingly relevant factor, from which we can assume that the shared development of different “capital types” results in investments in the interiorization process of individual members.

Accumulating Roma cultural capital: First-in-family graduates and the role of educational talent support programs in Hungary in mitigating the price of social mobility

“…However, this finding of our purposive sample of upwardly mobile Roma (and non-Roma) participants who completed tertiary level education is in line with the results of previous studies about Roma students in higher education in Hungary (Varga 2018, Forray 2015, Varga et al 2020, Mirga-Redzepi 2020. Namely, that the vast majority, 83 percent of our Roma interviewees took part in one (or more) educational support programs at different stages of their mobility trajectories.…”

“…Beyond social capital, Varga et al (2020) demonstrates the role of these college mentoring programs in accruing and accumulating psychological capital (Luthans et al 2010), that is, developing positive self-image, self-efficacy, hope and resilience. This positive psychological capital has been proven to significantly increase individual and organizational performances (Luthans et al 2010).…”

Some Best Practices for Inclusive Environments in Higher Education

“…The phenomenon of intersectionality described here has been similarly reported in research on school success and access to and retention in higher education of Roma youth in Hungary. In their case, the overlap between socio-economic background and Roma minority affiliation has been confirmed by several longitudinal studies (VArgA et al, 2020). All the research studies emphasize the importance of recognizing the characteristics of vulnerable students in relation to the higher education environment and understanding the challenges they face.…”

“…Belonging and feeling valued are key to persistence and academic attainment. A number of qualitative and narrative studies (VArgA et al, 2020;BryAnt, 2020) affirm that personal qualities, family support, and appropriate learning strategies are also key factors. Minority and non-traditional students need to have strength and to find resilience either built-in or gained from peers and their own community.…”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity in Contemporary Higher Education: Connecting the Global and Local Contexts

“…They made the argument that the faculty has not become so diverse as rapidly as the student population has, so educators must become aware of their biases and deficit mentality to promote equitable distribution of knowledge an ethnically diverse HE classroom (mCAlister-shields et al, 2019;BrAten & hAll, 2020). In the context of the University of Pecs, the study about the Wlislocki Henrik Roma Student Society (WHSZ) in this volume and students joining the Let's Teach for Hungary Mentor Program, as well as the Bridge of Opportunities engaging with civic organizations are best practices of CRT (BiCzo, 2021;godo, 2021;VArgA et al, 2020). Chapter 9 echoes the message that needs to reach white North American middle-class female teachers working with diverse students and educators preparing to work with a wide variety of ethnicities, religions, socioeconomic statuses, family structures and sexualities.…”