Open AccessRoma Empowerment and Social Inclusion Through Work-Integrated Learning
Author(s) -
Kristine Crondahl,
Leena Eklund Karlsson
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
sage open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.357
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2158-2440
DOI - 10.1177/2158244015572275
Subject(s) - empowerment , inclusion (mineral) , participatory action research , citizen journalism , promotion (chess) , sociology , sense of community , qualitative research , identity (music) , psychology , public relations , social psychology , gender studies , political science , social science , politics , anthropology , law , acoustics , physics
The basis for this article was a health promotion program based on participatory action research and work-integrated learning (WIL). Seven Roma people were employed and trained to work as local coordinators to empower the local Roma community by strengthening their participation in society and their sense of community, as well as to promote self-led integration. The study aimed to analyze the program from the Roma coordinators’ perspectives, focusing on perceived individual empowerment and perceptions of contribution to the common good and to community empowerment. The findings, based on qualitative data, primarily interviews with the Roma coordinators, indicated that the WIL approach, the participatory nature of the program, and the trust and support from the Roma colleagues and non-Roma facilitators were essential for the development of empowerment. Three main themes emerged that portrayed the participants’ psychological empowerment: strengthened Roma identity, a sense of power, and a sense of enculturated social inclusion.