Increasing Academic Performance in Roma Preschool Children

The educational opportunities of minorities are a main research theme. The Roma minority has developed low expectations in terms of educational and social achievement which explains the poor adaptation to academic life and the consecutive poor academic results. Our pilot study aimed to identify the relationship between the emotional intelligence and academic performance and to develop and investigate the effectiveness of an Emotional Intelligence Development Program on preschool Roma children. The hypotheses were confirmed. The implications of this study on increasing the emotional intelligence and, consecutively the academic performance in Roma children will be discussed.