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Roma Undergraduates’ Personal Network in the Process of College Transition. A Social Capital Approach

Research in Higher Education volume 60, pages 64–82 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Roma university students’ personal networks become unstable in the process of college transition. We describe the personal networks of these students using the model set up by Brandes et al. (in: Proceedings of the IEEE pacific visualization symposium (Pacific Vis’08), IEEE Computer Society Press, 2008) and analyse the identified groups utilizing the social capital approach. We mapped seventy-six students’ networks applying contact diary. Origin, host and fellow groups significantly differ in their composition; they provide different (‘bonding’ or ‘bridging’) type of resources, and their availability to the Roma students is also different. We found significant differences between the students in their tendency to rely on certain groups in the process of academic adjustment.

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Fig. 1
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Notes

  1. In scientific literature, the terms “Roma” and “Gypsy” are often used as synonyms. The term “Gypsy” comes from the conception that Gypsies originate from Egypt. This term is considered pejorative, even though many Gypsies prefer this expression. “Roma” means “man” in the Lovari language, which excludes women, and members of other Gypsy groups (eg. Beash or Romungro); however, the expression “Roma” is considered more polite (Kemény 2005). In our paper, we have decided to use the term “Roma”, referring to all the Hungarian Gypsy groups, because it seems to be used more widely in scientific literature.

  2. Kinship ties refer to all the familial relations, including ties to extended family members (e.g. parents, siblings, spouse, children, cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.).

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank co-workers and students of the CRCN for participating in this study. We would also like to thank Éva Huszti and Tünde Szabó for their help in collecting network data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mental Health, Faculty of Health and Public Services, Semmelweis University, Üllői str. 26, Budapest, 1086, Hungary

    Ágnes Lukács J. & Beáta Dávid

  2. Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Üllői str. 26, Budapest, 1086, Hungary

    Ágnes Lukács J.

  3. Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Social Sciences, Tóth Kálmán str. 4, Budapest, 1097, Hungary

    Beáta Dávid

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  1. Ágnes Lukács J.
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Lukács J., Á., Dávid, B. Roma Undergraduates’ Personal Network in the Process of College Transition. A Social Capital Approach. Res High Educ 60, 64–82 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9503-5

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Keywords

  • Social capital
  • Contact diary
  • College transition
  • Roma
  • Integration
  • Underrepresented minorities