The optimisation of the educational situation of the Occupational Travellers demands a programme with long-term objectives and a clear strategic plan. In order to realise this we have to build upon a strong and updated diagnosis of the needs and problem conditions of the target group(s). Only on the basis of a diagnosis of this kind it is possible to formulate the necessary hypotheses (causal, intervention and action hypotheses) to accomplish an effective and efficient intervention model.
Within this range, particular challenges on the different policy and intervention levels (European, regional, local) can be pointed out.
In the course of the past decade EFECOT has taken the research by Ludo Knaepkens (1987) and the Resolution of the Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council (1989) as cornerstones of its programme.
An evaluation research by the University of Gent (carried out in 1999 by the ‘Steunpunt Intercultureel Onderwijs’) however revealed the urgency to update these cornerstones. More than one aspect has indeed lost its topical value and it is clear that, with an eye to the future, the database has many blank spots:
This project aims to fill these gaps. We put forward three objectives:
In the following text we will clarify each of the three objectives by giving an overview of the planned actions. The limited means oblige us to draw some lines on both the territorial and content level.
As for the territorial scope, we will limit ourselves, with regard to the first two objectives, to the current Member States of the EU and two selected candidate Member States (for the time being we consider Poland and Hungary). The content will, for the first objective, be restricted to a description of those aspects that directly affect the educational situation of the Occupational Travellers.
The updating of the research material should include the following aspects:
Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the Occupational Travellers.
A quantitative and qualitative description of the needs of the target group with regard to education and training.
Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the educational measures for Occupational Travellers:
The research should describe these aspects in a specific way per region and globally for the entire EU.
Research data date fast if they are not brought up to date on a regular basis. This project aims to provide the possibility to do this. We intend to set up a platform per region that will systematically update data. For the composition of these platforms we will on the one hand resort to the existing network of EFECOT and other hand establish new contacts with administrations and NGOs.
These platform will draft an annual progress report with regard to the national / regional policy for the education of the Occupational Travellers.
TThe research in question has, considering the available means, a limited scope. Several regions and the European Parliament have shown their interest in more profound research. This project will develop a research design for these interested parties. The design will be scientifically grounded, taking into account the specificity of regions and contexts, and will include a timeline and a budget calculation schedule
* Updating of the research material
* The setting up of regional platforms that will keep the above-mentioned data updated in the long run.
* The development of a research design for the benefit of regional platforms and the European Parliament
Both the travelling communities and the policymakers will benefit from this project.
As for the policymakers:
On a European level an updated view will be obtained on the conditions and needs of the Occupational Travellers. This view can be weighed against the recommendations of the Resolution of 1989, so that a clear picture can be drawn of the impact of the Resolution in the past decade and of measures and/or recommendations to be considered for the future.
On a regional and national level the specific needs of the target group will get renewed attention. A permanent platform will also be set up in order to keep the data up to date and to draft progress reports. Policymakers can make use of this to found their policy in a comparative perspective with the other EU regions.
As far as the Occupational Travellers are concerned:
The organisations that defend the interests of the Occupational Travellers obtain after ten years again reliable material to substantiate their interventions.
Updated data will consolidate the educational policy for the target group on both the European and the national/regional level. We expect that the confrontation with the different research results will trigger off renewed policy attention for the target group.