Institutions, levels and models of training

Out of 65 state and state-recognized non-state institutions of higher education, 25 state and 14 non-state institutions provide some form of teacher education. Initial teacher training is provided both by institutions (colleges and universities) offering only Bachelor programmes and by institutions offering Bachelor and Master programmes. In multi-cycle trainings in tertiary educational institutions, the type of the institution does not determine the training levels the trainings can be commenced in, i.e. colleges also offer bachelor, master and doctorate trainings, and vice versa, universities offer bachelor trainings e.g. in teacher training (7.1).

Initial education for kindergarten teachers

The objective of the training is to train pedagogical experts who apply needs-tailored development and educational methods to care for infants and small children who need caring help in their lifecycle from new-born to 3 years of age (4.1). The training time is 3 years, 180 credit points (7.2). Graduates may primarily continue their studies in pedagogy MA degree courses.

Training kindergarten teachers

Kindergarten teacher training institutions prepare future kindergarten teachers for pre-school/pre-primary education, to be able to prepare children for primary school attendance and to involve children aged 3-7 in a structured process of development and education (2.3., 4.4.). The content of the training is based on pedagogy, and psychology, both meant to serve the differentiated development and socialisation of the child’s personality through a host of – mainly playful – activities. Theoretical, methodological, and practical training of teachers is done concurrently. Complex personality development takes place through nursing and physical education, upgrading the command of the mother tongue and communication in general, art education, mathematical education, and learning about nature. Training time is 3 years, 180 credit points (7.2). The proportion of general subjects, pedagogy and psychology is 32-35%, and studies preparing for kindergarten education have a share of 45-48%. Practice constitutes 30% of total training time. It is possible to specialise in national minority teaching. Graduates may primarily continue their studies in pedagogy MA degree courses.

Initial education for primary school teachers

Primary school teacher training courses train teachers to teach grades 1-6 by teaching all general teaching material of grades 1-4, i.e. ability and skills in teaching the mother tongue, sociology, natural sciences, mathematics, musical, visual and physical education, plus teaching the material for grades 5-6 in a field of learning/education compulsorily chosen (2.3., 5.1.). Training time is 4 years, 240 credit points (7.2). The proportion of general knowledge of pedagogy, psychology, sociology, foreign language, IT, and subjects required to prepare for teaching in grades 1-4 (Hungarian language and literature, mathematics, knowing nature, music/singing, visual education, IT, technology, family, household, and economic knowledge, physical education, and related subject pedagogy) is 83-85% (in favour of the latter). The proportion of the area of learning chosen preparing for tasks in grades 5-6 equals 15-17%. 15-20% of total teaching time is practical training. The uninterrupted period of school practice is 8-10 weeks. It is possible to specialise in minority education. Studies may be continued primarily in Pedagogy MA, but it is also possible to enter Teacher (MA) (7.4) with recognition of previously acquired pedagogical studies.

Training teachers

The decision regarding the introduction of the Bologna process and the multi-cycle training structure was made in Hungary in 2004. From former college-level trainings, kindergarten teachers’, lower primary school teachers’ and special educational teachers’ training was integrated in the first cycle (i.e. bachelor) program in the multi-cycle training system which was commenced as of 1 September 2006, and teacher training (in preparation for the primary school and secondary school level, in common) was raised to the level of master training. In the multi-cycle system, launched in September 2006, the earlier dual/concurrent model (college-level and university level degrees) was replaced by a two-cycle „consecutive„ model. The first cycle provides degree courses in various disciplines (to form a basis for subject-based teaching qualifications), while the Master’s degree in teaching is acquired in the second cycle, which also includes traineeship. Consequently, teacher training as such became a uniform training form, and instead of the former 110 types of multi-structured departments for teachers, there was a single master-level department set up for teachers, specialized by qualifications.

The Act on Higher Education of 2011 defines training, based on the “concurrent” type, in an undivided form in the general phase of school education: there the training period lasts 12 semesters (with two teacher’s qualifications), still, the length of training in 11 departments in general subjects is differentiated between primary school and secondary school teacher training (2.3.,5.1.,6.4.). As a result of the restructuring, the initial education of lower secondary school teachers is provided as undivided long-cycle programmes (10 semesters), which is supplemented by a 2-semester traineeship. The initial education of upper secondary school teachers is also offered as undivided long programmes, lasting 12 semesters, with a compulsory traineeship of two semesters (7.4.). Teacher training in the specialized training phase of school education (2.3., 6.1.) can be arranged both in undivided and divided forms. In divided training, teacher training is based on disciplinary BA training and lasts 4 semesters. A master’s degree can be obtained during the training. Teachers entering higher education also have to sit for an aptitude test. Teacher training, in its undivided form, commenced in the 2013/14 academic year and will be held, based on an outgoing scheme, parallel with the Bologna “consecutive” training until September 2017. Starting from the 2017/18 academic year it will only be available in the form of undivided training.

With regard to the two majors, undivided teacher training basically comprises of training in the special field and training for working as a teacher. In the frames of primary school teacher training, training in the special field means 100 credits for each of the two disciplines, and the teacher’s preparatory training also covers 100 credits. With regard to training secondary school teachers, training in the special field means 130 credits each and the teacher’s preparatory training covers 100 credits. The credits given for the teacher’s preparatory training imply the theoretical and practical credits in pedagogy and psychology, the credits for special methodology, the credits for contiguous teaching practices held both concurrently with and after the training period and the credits for having made a compulsory portfolio during the training. The component with the highest credits in teachers’ preparatory training is the continuous individual school practice, worth 50 credits.

Conductor teacher

The objective of training conductor teachers is to train pedagogical experts who can be competent in developing physically handicapped people of any age and with special needs, with conductive education (12.2.). Conductor teacher training (teachers helping students with physical disorders) can be completed within Bachelor courses. Within this type of training students may specialise in kindergarten or primary level teaching. The training period is 4 years, 240 credits (7.2.). Graduates may primarily continue their studies in pedagogy MA degree courses.

Bachelor’s degree in special educational pedagogy

The aim of this training is to train special educational pedagogues capable of offering help to (depending on their disability) handicapped and/or disabled children, young people and adults, in order to develop their skills, compensate for their functional disorders, manage their difficulties in life conduct and help their social integration (12.2.). Specializations: pedagogy for the mentally impaired, pedagogy for the hearing impaired, pedagogy for the visual impaired, logopaedia, psychopedagogy, somatopedagogy, pedagogy for those retarded in learning, pedagogy of the autism spectrum. The training period is 4 years, 240 credits (7.2.). Studies can be directly continued in the MA training in special educational pedagogy and MA training in educational science.

The table below summarizes the Hungarian system of teacher training:

B(Bachelor), M(Master) U(Undivided)

Teachers training typically focuses on two subjects, i.e. would-be-teachers are trained to teach two subjects. The exceptions are: the training of art teachers and vocational teachers, where it is possible to study for one teaching qualification (in one study field).

In every teacher training course it is compulsory to do, in addition to theoretical subjects, also specific methodology, and school practice, whose duration/relative lengths and credit value are determined in the training and outcome requirements of the particular course.

In teacher training the theoretical and practical phases are carried out concurrently. There is no final phase (the so-called on-the-job), but there is a compulsory integrated personal vocational training before acquiring the quailfication. School practice or kindergarten practice take place in either of two locations: at schools specialised in teacher training and kindergarten for trainee teachers, and at regular or any school under the supervision of the teachers specifically appointed for the task. From among the tasks of practical training

• grounding-type practice at school or kindergarten (lesson visits, practice lessons),
• teaching, and psychology practice to observe children, and to study the process of learning/teaching, and the tasks of teachers,
• seminars to prepare and assess lessons, teaching in front of a group of peers, practice in session managing,
• introductory teaching/education practice supervised by the lead teacher takes place at schools or kindergartens specialised in teacher training education.

The network of teaching-preparation schools and kindergartens, attached to the organization of teacher training institutions, performs public educational activities, and is operated by the tertiary educational institution. Act CXC of 2011 on National Public Education stipulates the specific conditions and requirements for the assignment of teachers in charge of mentoring teaching practices and defines the compulsory number of lessons for them (which is significantly less, due to the extra tasks of mentoring the teaching practices). The head teachers of the external schools generally receive special remuneration, based on their special service contract with the training institution.

After having had individual teaching practices and sessions (1-2 weeks in teaching-preparation schools), the individual contiguous (4 semesters in teacher training, 6-10 weeks in kindergarten and lower primary school teacher training) teaching and session mentoring practices are implemented, after some preparations, in the above-mentioned external teaching-preparation institutions in the last semester of the training period.

Admission requirements

Admission to teacher training to programmes set out in 9.1. is through the central academic admission system (7.3.).

The fundamental characteristic of the tertiary educational entrance procedure is that the bases of point calculation for a BA training are the secondary school study results and the results of the matriculation examination. This means that 400 points can be collected. An additional 100 points can be collected with the help of language examinations, study and vocational examinations, or excellent sports result and preference. In BA training, the points are calculated and the applicants are ranked on the basis of nationally uniform principles. In the case of MA training, the conditions of admission and the method of point calculation are set by the tertiary educational institution. Altogether 100 points can be collected, and a BA degree is a general criterion for admission.

Three entrance procedures are held each year. The general procedure starts with applications in each February and ends with the specification of the point limit for admittance to the specific training courses at the end of July. In the framework of this procedure, the applicant may submit an application for 6 trainings, in priority order. Those who are not admitted in the general procedure or have not submitted an application can have a chance in the second entrance procedure, which means a one-month simplified procedure where an application may only be made for a single training. The sliding-semester entrance procedure is launched in each October and it can end in admission for the spring semester. The tertiary educational institutions decide the trainings that applications can be submitted for in the individual procedures.

The special characteristics of applications to teacher training are summarized in this table.

Curriculum, levels of specialisation and learning outcomes

New ministerial decrees (8/2013 EMMI decree on common requiriements of teacher training and of Educational and Outcome Requirements of certain teacher training courses; 18/2016 EMMI decree on the modification of 8/2013 EMMI decree on Educational and Outcome Requirements of academic vocational trainings, of Bachelor’s Programmes and Master’s Programmes and Educational and Outcome Requirements of certain tacher training courses) defines the training and learning outcome requirements, the number of credits required and the teacher’s competences to be acquired (specialized knowledge, competence, professional commitment) (7.2., 7.3). Taking into consideration those provisions, the institutions concerned draw up curricula to determine the concrete form, content and methodology of the training programmes. A review on the content and outcome of tertiary educational trainings is currently in the completion phase. The institutions can decide, within their own competences but with the observation of these frames, the sample curriculum and specific form of training, as well as its special content and methodological requirements.

The training and outcome requirements of majors related to teacher training define, at the level of a decree, the competences that the graduates are expected to master. This includes specific knowledge concerning the institutional and legal environment of the educational system, as well as competences regarding differentiated education. The skills required for managing educational institutions cannot be mastered in teacher training but rather in the extension training phase, in the in-service training major specialized in public education management and resulting in a teacher’s special examination.

In general teacher training (according to the chapter 9.1.), teachers of a specific subject are trained in teacher training only, two majors are typically studied there. Lower primary school teacher training, nationality training, specialist training and the choice of a specialized field all lead to deeper preparations in the specific group of subject. In lower primary school teacher training the preparation is focused on the class teacher’s duties. In the possession of a lower primary school teacher’s qualification the teacher may teach the subjects of any special field (with the exception of foreign languages) in grades 1-4, and may also teach in the selected special field in grades 1-6 (2.3.).

From among the majors in teacher training, the following trainings prepare for and give a qualification in the following: infant and small child teacher training in day-nursery education (4.1.), kindergarten teacher training in kindergarten education (2.3., 4.4.), lower primary school teacher training in education in grades 1-4 of the primary school and grades 1-6 in a selected specialized field (2.3., 5.1.), teacher training in school education in grades 5-12, excluding primary school teachers and secondary school teachers who are prepared for and qualified in teaching in grades 4-8 and grades 9-12 (2.3., 5.1., 6.1.), respectively. Special educational pedagogy and conductor teacher training offer preparations to educational duties in institutions introduced in chapter 12.2 regardless of the age group and the school level. In specialized teacher training and arts training, the teacher gets a qualification to teach subject groups in the vocational training years of school education in institutions introduced in chapters 2.3. and 6.1., and to fulfil the educational tasks in adult training.

The special competences that the graduates of BA and MA teacher trainings and of undivided teacher trainings are expected to possess are stipulated in EMMI Decree 18/2016 and EMMI Decree 8/2013, respectively. As regards teacher training, the basic competences are as follows:

• developing the student’s personality together with tailor-made treatment, based on individual needs
• helping and improving the development of students’ groups and communities;
• having knowledge of the special methodology and the special subject;
• planning the pedagogical process;
• supporting, organizing and managing the learning process;
• assessing pedagogical processes and the students;
• communication, professional cooperation and career identity;
• autonomy and responsibility.

Teacher educators

The group of teacher trainers is also extremely heterogeneous in Hungary. With regard to teachers in tertiary education, an MA qualification or PhD degree is required to fulfil the educational post, as a general rule (9.4). According to chapter 9.2, with regard to teacher trainers for a public educational institution (head teachers in teaching-preparation schools, mentor teachers in partner schools) the qualification-related requirement is a teacher’s special examination.

There is no specific training for teacher educators in Hungary.

Qualifications, evaluation and certificates

Act CCIV of 2011 on National Higher Education, Government Decree 87/2015 on the Execution of the former and the training and outcome requirements jointly define the conditions of giving a diploma. In general teacher training, apart from reaching the credits defined in the training and outcome requirements, the to-be teacher must have a language examination, furthermore, it requires passing a final examination before an examination committee of at least three members. A criterion to qualifying for the examination is a thesis accepted and assessed in writing, as well as the presentation of a portfolio of the experience gained during the teaching practice to be defended at the final examination.

The degree is a public document to be validated through the signatures of the chairperson of the final examination committee, and the head of the institution. The diploma received after teacher training authorizes the holder to take a teacher’s job in the corresponding field.

Alternative training pathways

The training forms that are referred to in the international practice as alternative training path are defined in a ministerial decree. In the Hungarian higher educational system, there is an option for those already working to participate in teachers’ training in the framework of lifelong learning. This option is made available as a result of the following factors: the shortened training path defined in the training and output requirements of teachers’ training that is applicable if a person has already studied some courses before, or previous credits or experience can be acknowledged, as well as the provision of evening classes and distance learning. The various training paths and forms end with the same value degree.

In Hungary it is not possible to obtain a teaching degree as a result of individual preparation while working in a school; a teaching degree can only be obtained in the framework of formal teachers’ training in a tertiary educational institution.