This case study focuses on education in three K-8 schools in Medjimurje County, Croatia. The object of inquiry is the development of successful educational practices for Roma students. Until recently, only a limited number of Roma students completed basic K-4 schooling. Today all students at these three schools complete K-8 education, with some Roma students going on to pursue secondary and tertiary education. We examine some of the processes that took place in creating the change, along with the principals', teachers', and Roma assistants' views and actions.

The paper considers the effects of the education of the Roma in the Međimurje County. Although positive effects are present in many different aspects related to education of the Roma, one of the most important is certainly the change in the attitude of the Roma toward their own education. The comprehension of importance of the Roma children's education and the intention to base their future material incomes on the work and competences acquired by education are an important step forward in developing a collective awareness of the Roma community of the importance of education and a giant step towards a more efficient integration.

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Most of the Roma settlements in Croatia are spatially segregated from the settlements of the majority population. Specific cultural elements constitute the ethnic border towards the local population, making it difficult and reducing the possibility of their integration into the majority population. One of the results of that segregation is the unfamiliarity of the Roma children with the language of the majority population. This unfamiliarity with the Croatian language is a big obstacle for the integration of the Roma children into Croatian society through school education. Starting from Grade 1 they follow the regular school curriculum. Two of the subjects that are taught from the very beginning of their primary school education are Natural Science and English as a foreign language. In this paper, the authors present the results (statistical analysis and discussion) of their research study. It compares the familiarity of Roma and Non-Roma Grade 4 children (age 10) with some biological terms in English as a foreign language. Based on the results of their research, the authors suggest modifications of the school curriculum for Roma children that would enable their better school achievement and subsequently their easier integration into Croatian society.