The Professional Profile of Teachers Working with Roma Students based on their Perceptions of Cultural Diversity. A Study in Compulsory Education

Encouraging inclusive and intercultural education has become one of the key objectives for a number of international organisations and educational systems. However, moving towards this goal is impossible without the collaboration of teachers as their perceptions influence the way they organise and carry out their professional activities. The aim of this paper is to define the professional profile of compulsory education teachers working with Roma students in the Italian city of Messina. It is based on a study of their perceptions of cultural diversity and involves 182 teachers responsible for teaching students in the first cycle of compulsory education (6-14 year olds). A quantitative design using descriptive statistics resulted in the identification of two types of teacher profile, one with positions favourable to cultural diversity and the other with views and practices not favourable to it.