 |
Scottish Parent Councils Association |
SPCA,. Newall Terrace,. Dumfries,. DG1 1LW... Tel: (01387) 260428 ..Fax: (01387) 260428...  |
| . |
|
Scottish Parent Councils Association |
SPCA,. Newall Terrace,. Dumfries,. DG1 1LW... Tel: (01387) 260428 ..Fax: (01387) 260428... |
| Home | Training | Publications | Newsletters | Responses | Conferences | Membership | AntiBullying | Drug Aware | Links |
| . |
Conference 2008 Safe Internet Use ------------------ Highlights of previous SSBA conferences :- 2007 Developing a Parent Council and Encouraging Parental Involvement 2006 The Way Forward for Parental Involvement 2005 Parents in Partnership 2003 Partnerships and responsibilities 2002 SSBA is fit for the future |
Conference 2000 ----------------------- Reforms in Primary Schooling in Hungary Introduction The aim of this paper is to give background information about my school and outline the current educational context. My name is László Varga. I have been a headmaster for six years in a primary school in Mezőörs. Mezőörs can be found in the northwest corner of Hungary. The school is 25 years old. Like many other primary schools in Hungary, children start this school at the age of 6 and finish at the age of 14. The school is named after a famous Hungarian poet Sándor Weöres. We have 120 pupils and 13 teachers. Children are arranged into eight-year groups. Regarding my qualifications I have a teaching diploma from the János Apáczai Csere Teacher-training College and a higher degree in pedagogy from the Loránd Eötvös University. From 1997-1999 I participated on a training course specializing in TEYL and now am interested in teaching English to young children. I have ten year work experience in teaching. Last year I studied an English course in Barnstaple, England and participated in a conference on the school and its environment in Sesimbra, Portugal. Both were supported by the SOCRATES programme. Concerning the areas of focus in our school, these are improvement in individualised learning in cooperation with the parents. We focus on slow learners, because we have got lots of social and mental disadvantaged children. We have been working on a new programme for 2 years teaching children according to their abilities to help them overcome their weaknesses. The project works well with good results, so we want to carry on with our work. The aims of our school are to have a secure, effective and caring learning environment where skills can be developed in partnership with parents and supported by the community to form the basis for success and happiness in life. Radical changes Hungary is highly respected for the academic progress its' young people achieve at school through what had been quite a formal system in the past. Recent years have seen tremendous development and emphasis on new ideas in education in the country. For example, a new National Curriculum was introduced in 1998 which brought new subjects and methods into the educational system. From this broad curriculum, schools had to work out their local curriculums relevant to their contexts. In Hungary education is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age, but many children choose to remain at school for another 2 or 3 years after 16 to take higher exams. Most children go to state schools, which are maintained by the government and local authorities, but some children go to private schools - e.g. church schools, or schools which are run by foundations. About 90 per cent of all children in Hungary at primary level attend state schools. The National Curriculum includes:
The National Curriculum consists of the following broad educational aims:
One of the basic principles of Hungarian educational policy is that all children and their parents have an equal right to education and training irrespective of domicile, sex, social and cultural background and physical ability. Reforms have dominated the educational sector in recent years. A goal of these reforms is the emergence of a flexible system, which provides a wide scope of competency and prepares for a society undergoing constant change. A parallel objective is to maintain a decentralized school system. These reforms are intended to create a more integrated and better-coordinated system. The aim of primary education is to promote the development of children's emotions, intellect and creativity and the acquisition of social, cultural and physical skills. The Ministry of Education prescribes the subjects to be studied, the attainment targets and the content of national examinations. Schools can also add their own emphasis to the curriculum. There are also rules about the rights of parents. Cooperation with the parents Education is a partnership between home and school. Parents must have possibility to choose between different schools according to the children's ability, interests and religion. Parents are entitled to know the pedagogical program and the rules of our primary school. We keep parents posted about the children's development, behaviour and progress. Parents can ask students to take part in optional subjects. At our school parents have founded a local parental organization. We have got a Parents' and Teachers'Association, which takes part in decision making and the direction of the institution. The Association participates in drawing up the one-year programme of our school. The members of the Association keep in close touch with the Head and the teachers. The Head of the school meets the representatives of the parents every other month and they hold a meeting, where the participants discuss the outcomes and specify additional aims. In partnership with parents and with the support of the wider community our school recognises a positive and enthusiastic attitude to lifelong learning. The freedom to organise teaching means that schools are free to determine what is taught and how. The Ministry of Education does, however, impose a number of statutory standards in relation to the quality of education. Regarding the future, as the Ministry of Education is currently working on setting up a system for quality control in education, we have the new challenge of outlining our ideas for a local quality control system. DR.
LÁSZLÓ VARGA Head Phone:00-36-96-375-049 |
||
| ..Scottish Parent Councils Association(c) 2007... | A Private Company Limited By Guarantee
Registered No: SC152749.. and A Scottish Charity Registered No: SC030585.. |