Les « Tsiganes », des élèves « irréguliers » ?

Based on a PhD research on Roma childhood and parenthood in Italy, this article shows how the category of a Roma pupil arouse throughout the XXth century. Drawing on an analysis of laws, public policies and psychological studies of Gypsy children, this paper will question the relation between education policies targeting Gypsy children and the theories on which they are based. The goal is to understand the reasons that led public authorities to consider this category of pupils as having special needs to be addressed with a specialized school system. More precisely, we will tackle the logics, the issues and the effects of this process of categorization of the Gispy pupils and its specific treatment. Finally, the example of Gipsy pupils allows one to question the political issues connected to Italian educational policies and, more precisely, the ideologies connected with the way to consider and deal with cultural diversity at school.