Whereas the topic of the ‘cultural sensitivity’ of healthcare systems has been addressed extensively in the US and the UK, literature on the subject in most European countries, specifically looking at the situation of Roma, is still scarce. Drawing on qualitative research conducted mainly in the city of Barcelona under the communicative approach with Roma subjects who have stable socioeconomic positions and higher cultural capitals (end-users, professionals of the healthcare system, and key informants of a regional policy oriented to the improvement of Roma living conditions), the present study aims to fill this gap. We explore the barriers that the Roma face in accessing the healthcare system, reflecting on how these barriers are accentuated by the existing anti-Roma prejudices and institutional arrangements that do not account for minority cultures. Our results point out a series of obstacles at two levels, in the interaction with healthcare professionals, and in relation to existing institutional arrangements, which prevent Roma families from having equal access to the healthcare system. Education stands up as a mechanism to contest anti-Roma sentiments among healthcare professionals.

Teacher induction has been an object of interest in teacher education and professional development, mostly as a result of the analysis of the difficulties faced and the coping strategies developed by newly qualified teachers. However, the specific mechanisms to facilitate teachers’ induction when being appointed by schools working under challenging contexts have been less explored. This study aims to explore the potential of a community-based school model named Schools as Learning Communities to induct new teachers and to help them embrace the school’s project. A single case study was conducted in a high-poverty school located in Barcelona (Spain). Data collection included observations and interviews with teachers and the school management team. Findings highlight two main features of the school model that facilitate teacher induction: the dialogic approach to teachers’ professional development and the participation of family and community members in the school, which operates as a pedagogical resource. Furthermore, our results reveal this model as a successful pathway for the new teachers to embrace the school mission and to become agents of transformation who contribute to the project’s sustainability. The study offers lessons on how to support the induction of teachers who join diverse schools serving students living in poverty.

Education is a key feature in the development of an agenda for a sustainable world. Education usually is associated with developing a responsible and ethical citizenship, aware of the main challenges for a sustainable development. Mathematics used to play a role as gatekeeper to achieve good educational performance. This article explores six case studies of Roma developing successful learning stories in learning mathematics. We identify five main characteristics in their educational trajectories that may explain Roma students’ success in the school. This article moves forward previous studies characterizing Roma cultural features of mathematics learning, reporting stereotypes towards Roma in school. We conclude that in order to promote educational inclusion, successful stories may inform effective educational programs that, ultimately, may lead towards a sustainable education, including students from the most disadvantaged groups, as in the case of the Roma people.

A common characteristic of Roma as a cultural group is that they do not allow their elderly to die alone. Nevertheless, rooted in a mainstream cultural perspective of health provision services, public institutions usually do not allow Roma people to be with their loved ones in their last moments. Following the communicative methodology, we conducted a communicative case study on the death of the most relevant female Roma leader in Catalonia. She was accompanied by more than two hundred family members and friends in her room and corridor at an important hospital in Barcelona. We performed our research in the 2 years following her death to obtain the reflections of the Roma members involved. These reflections revealed the egalitarian dialogue forged between these Roma members and the hospital personnel, which enabled the former to embrace their culture and support their loved ones before death. Because this dialogue was possible and fruitful, the acknowledgment of cultural diversity and the improvement of the quality of services offered to Roma might also be possible in other health institutions.