Studies
Kaposi, József
The dilemmas of history education in Hungary
This paper summarizes on which principles it would be worth debating the dilemmas of teaching history in professional circles in the light of changes that have taken place in the past decades, starting with the surreal state of affairs in history teaching in Hungary at present. In this respect, it argues for the adoption of a developmental goal understood under the heading historical literacy. It outlines the most important building blocks of historical literacy: e.g. narrative cognition, collective identity formation, acquiring the ability for adaptive historical thinking. It holds of high importance maintaining the social studies complexity of the subject in the interest of education for citizenship, the multiperspective processing of documents (sources), a rethinking of the common cultural coding system based on Hungarian traditions, and interactive methods that ensure active learning. The author of the paper hopes that his recommendations expressed on the fundamental questions of history teaching – why, for whom, what and how – can provide a framework for meaningful professional debate for both academic and everyday practitioners.
Makk, Gábor
A reconstruction of Plato’s learning theory reflected in adaptivity to the phonetic alphabet II
Prior to the adaptivity to the phonetic alphabet, the cognitive mind and the external world waiting discovery were indistinct, the images born of the imagination could not be separated from the author of the image, nor could the observer investigate from an external point of view. As a result, the image of perceptible things impressed in the mind was not assumed, and the phenomena of life was not traced back to a single substance, the soul. This study searches for an answer in Plato’s theory of learning to the question of how the function of the soul and the imagination changed following adaptivity to the phonetic alphabet. It was established that as a result of the adaptivity, the separation between the subject and the object may have given rise to a problem to be solved, namely how images wind up in the soul. As Plato assigned the intellect a privileged role, the soul was moved from the heart to the brain and became the seat of mental function. The creative imagination departing from reality and separated from emotions formed the recallable image existing in the soul when the object was no longer physically present, too, allowing for the formation of Platonic anamnesis.
Érsek, Attila
The role and characteristics of critical thinking in history teaching
A summary of qualitative research
Students must become independent human beings who think critically, since this is one of the main expectations at schools as well as a key 21st century skill on the labour market. Based on the World Economic Forum’s report from 2018, critical thinking will be the second most important skill that an employee must possess in 2020. I explored the beliefs and attitudes of history teachers towards critical thinking in the framework of a small-sample study. The sampling procedure was conducted with a sample of professionals: the participants were secondary school history teachers. They created concept maps of dependent variables: the characteristics of critical thinking in history teaching. The most important key concepts, which are closely connected to critical thinking based on the results of the research, are the following: self evaluation; independent, conscious and reflective formation of opinions; systematization; recognizing and creating rules; source criticism; problem solving; conceptual transition. The research confirmed the adequacy of the shortest possible description I could create about critical thinking: it is evaluative thinking, with the help of history teaching and source interpretation, that supports students’ orientation in the present.
Latest issues
Sztankovszky, Varsány
The literacy and national education plan of the erudite Zoltán Kodály – not just from the musician’s perspective
In the course of my research, I successfully link various works and teaching concepts of Zoltán Kodály and history-themed folk songs with various groups of teaching material topics (Summary table). The pedagogical foundation of my work is the chapter entitled On the role of folk music and classical music in education, and spelled out in the subchapters The Kodály Method’s connection to general knowledge subjects as well as The role of the folk song in history education. In the course of demonstrating the relevance of Kodály’s teaching methods and work, I successfully found a number of connecting points between opportunities for developing cross-competencies and the necessary key competencies for lifelong learning. These chapters cover the express developmental effect of the Kodály Method on general knowledge subjects and the research thereof. I may use orchestral and choral works or folk songs in various school celebrations. In the interest of showing the practical application of my theoretical work, I have put together a lesson plan with an analysis in the Lesson Plan chapter section.
Workshop
Jakab, György
The Hungarian traditions of direct education for citizenship
It is well known that today education for citizenship has been, in many aspects, emancipated in an organic way in the anglo-saxon education systems that serve as a model, both in society and in the school: political life was organized basically on the same foundations, resting on a constitutional framework, and parallel with the gradual expansion of voting rights, demand grew for the introduction of systematic education for citizenship in the schools. In contrast, there have been several radical changes of political system in Hungary during the course of which drastically different, in most cases with conflicting international orientations, political frameworks and philosophies of education, have replaced each other. Each one of these sought a rethink of the theories and practice of education for citizenship, and they tried to enforce their ideologies mainly with the help of the school system. Thus the history of education for citizenship in Hungary developed in a fragmented manner in comparison with continental traditions.
Mezei Rumpf, Anita
Education journals in Csurgó after the endorsement of the Public Education Act
The surveying of education journals from the Age of Dualism has been ongoing for decades in Hungary. There are some lost journals or ones with just a few remaining issues that remain to be discovered by researchers of the history of education. In Csurgó, between 1881 and 1896, the “Somogy County Teachers Association” and the Csurgó teacher training college jointly published an instructional-educational journal entitled Public School (and from 1886, School) Digest which functioned in an informative and knowledge-expanding capacity for 16 years. We may worthily remember the journal in 2019, as we could also celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment which produced it, the college in Csurgó, if it was still operating. Naturally, the Public (School) Digest is unmatched from the aspect of history of education, as all of its issues contribute to the rich history of educational and instructional matters during the Age of Dualism. After a short presentation of the public education policy at the time, the study offers a look at the history of the “Somogy County Teachers Association”. After some history of education background, the reader can become acquainted with the education journals published in Csurgó.