Promoting Gypsy children school engagement: A story-tool project to enhance self-regulated learning

•A program to promote school engagement with Gypsy children (4th grade) was run.•Participants (35) were randomly distributed in the experimental and control groups.•Engagement behaviors were assessed in the classroom with an observation protocol.•Findings show the efficacy of the program to promote behavior engagement.•Training improved Gypsy children SRL depending on the times of measurement. The high rate of school failure among Gypsy children is on the agenda of European policies. The current study assessed the efficacy of an extra-class program, eighteen weeks long, to promote the behavioral and cognitive engagement (self-regulated learning, SRL) of Gypsy children from fourth grade. Gypsy communities were contacted, and the 35 Gypsy children in the 4th grade (10 to 12 years old) participating in the study were randomly distributed in the experimental and control groups. The program used a story-tool to organize the weekly sessions due to the cultural value of stories and the oral transmission of values in Gypsy communities. Children's behavioral engagement and self-regulatory behaviors in the classroom were assessed with an observation protocol. The 35 Gypsy children were observed throughout the duration of the program in 12 five-minute intervals for a total of 60 min. The findings show the efficacy of the program for promoting behavioral engagement and enhancing SRL strategies.