Strengthening Identity and Social Responsibility among Roma University Students

Abstract

The aim of our research is to present how the identity and social responsibility wasstrengthened by a Roma Student College in Higher Education. We rely on the literature ofequality and equity, which is examined in the context of empowerment, resilience andintersectionality (Varga, 2017). Our research sample consists of the community membersof the diverse (Roma, non-Roma, disadvantaged students) Roma Student College of Pécs,Hungary. The sample university students are considered resilient (Masten, 2008), as they haveovercome the hardships of their family background and study now in Higher Education.Our study gives an analysis and highlights of 27 biographical interviews from the perspectiveof their pre-university years and the years spent as Student College members. The summaryof the grant period between 2016 and 2018 will reveal the diverse programs, which wereavailable for students in the Student College and can be divided into three main groups.The positive role of some of these and the Student College community appeared in thenarratives as a strikingly relevant factor.