European, global and intercultural dimension in curriculum development
Respect of the European values
Hungary’s Fundamental Law provides equal access to education for all Hungarian and European citizens, in accordance with the existing treaty of the European Union; international decrees on human rights; the rights of children; the rights of national and ethnical minorities and gender equality.
In Hungary, there is currently no specific legislation for the European dimension of the education. At the same time, the principles of the 2011 Public Education Act are based on traditional European values. They emphasize the pedagogical task of supporting the individual's harmonious physical, spiritual and intellectual development; the need to educate the harmony between individual interests and the common good; the importance of preparing for a moral, independent and responsible lifestyle; serving the prevention of social repression and serving talent management.
The law requires public educational institutions to set up individualized, trust-, and empathy-based, far-reaching requirements. In terms of pedagogical methods and the assessment of students, it recommends procedures which are versatile to suit the requirements of the student's development.
Development of key competences
In 2012, a nationwide basic programme for kindergarten education (Government Decree 363/2012) was set up, aiming at nursery education to promote the diverse and harmonious development of kindergarten children, the development of a child’s personality, the reduction of disadvantages, while taking age and individual characteristics and different pace of development into account. Accordingly from the 2015/2016 school year, the main task of nursery education (which is compulsory from age 3) is to satisfy the physical and psyhological needs of the children, including the development of a healthy lifestyle. The emotional, moral and value-oriented community education, the development of the mother tongue and intellectual development are also important tasks of nursery education.
Hungary has implemented the key competences defined by the European Commission in 2006 without any modification into the National Core Curriculum. The definition of key competences remained the same in the National Core Curriculum, introduced in 2012.
In line with the recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, the current National Core Curriculum, introduced in 2012, and its related curricula provide the key competences needed for lifelong learning (language and foreign language communication, mathematics, science and technology, digital, social and civic, entrepreneurial competences, aesthetic-artistic awareness, effective and independent learning) and, accordingly, it defines the curriculum of public education. The need and the methodology of developing key competences has become more and more common in the actual teaching practice during the recent years.
In June 2016, the European Commission launched a review of key competences for lifelong learning as a result of political, economic, social, ecological and technical changes over the last ten years. The development process was not about supplementing the list so far, but rather about creating a new structure that groups the competences that an individual should acquire around three main nodes:
- managing the future (future’s literacy)
- “managing” the personal world, or creating inner integrity (personal competencies)
- community approach (collective competencies). The consultation process was completed in the summer of 2017 and, based on the conclusions, the European Commission adopted in January 2018 a new proposal for a recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning.
In 2017, the review of the National Core Curriculum began. In addition to the requirement for periodic review, the reason for this is the stagnation or deterioration in international competency measurements (see OECD PISA results), and education based on the core curriculum and its related framework curriculum focuses too much on knowledge rather than applying it. The project of the new curriculum was completed by September 2018 and a social and professional consultation was launched on the concept., Afterwards, the final version of the new National Core Curriculum is finalised in September 2020, from grades one, five and nine.
In the new National Core Curriculum, based on the key competences suggested by the European Union but taking into account the specifics of Hungary defines the general competences across the fields of learning as follows, as well as those that cannot be linked exclusively to any field of learning, but are based on the acquired knowledge to a varying extent and composition, and develop in the learning-teaching process
- Learning to learn competences
- Communication competences (for the mother tongue and foreign languages)
- Digital competences
- Mathematical and thinking competences
- Personal and social (relationship) competences
- Creativity, self-expression and cultural awareness competences
- Workforce, innovation and entrepreneurial competences
In the new National Core Curriculum, the basic learning and education objective is to develop national and European identity, patriotism and active citizenship and democracy. Developing knowledge of Europe and skills related to European awareness is embedded in the traditional curriculum. The current European curriculum is shared by several subjects (Hungarian, geography, history, modern foreign languages, art subjects, science subjects). At the cross-curricular (interdisciplinary) level, curriculum developers are expecting teachers to relate what is known about Europe.
Internationalisation in the Measurement of Key Competences
There are surveys commissioned by two organizations, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) for comparing and measuring the competences. These sample-based surveys, which are repeated periodically, primarily measure the level of basic competences (literacy, mathematical and/or scientific knowledge, skills), but also focus on other competencies (such as problem-solving skills). The EU does not currently have its own EU-level competence measurement, so the indicator values for EU strategic objectives are in many cases based on the results of these measurements (see, for example, the percentage of underperformers in PISA measurements).
Hungary joined the international surveys of students' knowledge, abilities and motivations already in the late 1960s, first initiated by the IEA. Since then, Hungary has been a regular participant in IEA-organized international performance measurement, including the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), which has been testing students' mathematics and science knowledge in four-year cycles since 1995 at the end of grades four and eight, and In PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), which has been measuring the reading comprehension ability of grade 4 students every five years since 2001. These measurements focus primarily on knowledge contents.
Since 2000, Hungary has also been participating in the OECD's Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), which measures the literacy, mathematics and science competences of students aged 15. The PISA measurement captures how students can successfully use the knowledge they have acquired at school, ie. PISA measures applied practical literacy.
In 2008, the OECD launched the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Within this framework, a Survey of Adult Skills for international comparisons assesses the competencies of the adult population aged 16-65 in the participating countries. Twenty-four countries, including nineteen EU Member States, participated in the first round of the survey (2010-2012) and a further nine, including three EU countries, in the second round (2013-2015). Hungary joined the third round in 2016. The focus of the study, as well as PISA measurements, is on basic and key competences and practical skills essential to the social and economic challenges of the 21st century.
International measurements provide information on a country's education system and provide opportunities for planning system-wide interventions, but are not suitable for institutional development. Recognizing this, the education government launched in 2000 the National Competence Measurement Programme, which adapted the technology of international educational achievement measurement.
The National Competence Test examines the reading, text comprehension, and mathematical competencies of all 6th, 8th, and 10th-grade students in the country annually, in accordance with international test development and measurement standards. Since 2008, individual tracking of measurements has also been possible, so the subsequent results of the 6th-grade student - 8th and 10th grade - and the student's progress can be analysed. Recent developments include the measurement of new areas, so from the 2014/2015 school year, foreign languages have been included in grades 6 and 8. Foreign language assessment - with the exception of pupils in primary and lower secondary education who take part in the target language measurement – enrolls for pupils in grades 6 and 8 who learn English or German as their first foreign language.
Through the programme, maintainers and schools have direct access to the aggregate and student data of the school via the Internet, and thanks to improvements, parents and students now have access to their own performance data up to the task solution. In addition, schools can also download comparative data from the Internet to compare their own results with those of national schools of a similar type and socio-cultural background. The downloadable database and analysis software allow schools to further analyze their teaching results. The Competence Measurement holder, Public Education Measurement Evaluation Unit of the Education Authority, provides users with seminars and further training in data analysis.
The National Unified Student Fitness Test (NETFIT), a compulsory and uniform method of measuring fitness in the Hungarian public education system, has been launched since the 2014/2015 school year. Measuring and examining the physical condition and fitness of pupils takes place among students in full-time school education (except for grades 1-4) where physical education is taught.
Partnerships and Networks
The Erasmus + program strengthens the co-operation between schools (educational institutions) and / or other organizations, and develops the strategic partnerships on those subjects that have a significant impact on public education. In the partnership projects of the programme the centre of the project is the co-operation between project partners and the project work.
In the Erasmus+ Programme, within the frame of KA2 application category, support is provided for strategic partnerships. Within the frame of strategic partnerships, cooperations based on the exchange of experience, or product-oriented cooperations of relatively great volume, aimed at developments may be implemented.
One of the main aims of the ERASMUS+ KA2 strategic partnerships sub-programme is to provide the opportunity to develop, disseminate and apply new and innovative practices and methodologies in public education.
In the projects, the joint objective of the partners includes peer learning, exchange of good practices, creation of a solid base and enhancing international cooperation, the summary and dissemination of these results, as well as the development of the participants’ competences.
Strategic partnerships projects with public education topics may be implemented in two main application opportunities:
- School, kindergarten strategic partnerships, in which only public educational institutions (kindergartens, primary schools, upper secondary general schools, special vocational schools, vocational schools, upper secondary vocational schools, dormitories, skillls-development schools, primary or secondary art schools) may participate and implement projects aimed at the exchange of experience. The main purpose of the partnership is to strengthen the European dimension, and to empower kindergartens and schools with 21th century competences.
- Public educational strategic partnerships, in which in addition to public education institutions any other public education-related public or private institutions and organisations may participate, and implement projects aimed at the exchange of experience or developments of relatively great volume. This type of project allows the development, dissemination and application of new and innovative practices and methods in the framework of international partnership projects. Thus, projects may also aim to create partnerships supporting innovation support and exchanges of good practices.
1. Compared to 2016, the number of institutions participating in the Erasmus+ strategic partnerships at school and kindergarten has increased considerably due to the strong technical support of the Tempus Public Foundation (which operates the tender system). Thus due to profession support the number of submitted Hungarian co-ordination applications are constantly growing. As the available funding for the application has increased considerably, the support rate has not decreased in the last two years (58%), in 2019, 140 was the number of successful applications. Altogether 2,529 children and 1,732 teachers could benefit directly from the applications. Candidate institutions have identified social inclusion and the development of relevant, high quality skills and competences as horizontal priorities. In addition, as a sector-specific priority, they identified the promotion of skills and competences and the strengthening of teaching profession.
New technologies, digital competences and cultural heritage were the most attractive areas for applicants to select topics. There is also an increasing tendency in applications for the participation rate of pupils/children with special educational needs. In 2019, secondary education institutions will stand out with a 60% participation rate, followed by the primary schools and kindergartens applications of the submitted Hungarian co-ordinated applications. Within the frame of strategic partnerships projects, mobility projects are an important tool for achieving project aims, which also contribute to a close and efficient cooperation between the partners. Partner institutions come from a wide range of countries, with most partner institutions still located in Turkey, Romania, Spain and Germany. On average, 5 partner institutions work together on a supported project.
2. Strategic partnerships for public education institutions with mixed composition typically support projects that do not have sufficient knowledge in the field of education but require knowledge in other sectors and professions. 26 applications submitted in 2016 and 27 applications in 2017, then there was a slight decline in applicant activity in 2018, 21 applications, then in 2019 28 applications were received again, of which 13 got grants.
Almost 33,000 schools from 121 countries participate in the GLOBE Programme (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) which was established in 1995. The objective of the programme is to enhance environmentally-conscious education by creating an experience-based relationship with nature. In the framework of the environment observation network, pupils carry out meteorological, soil and water chemistry observations in their environment.
Since launching the programme, approximately 150 million measurements have been carried out by 10 million students from more than 33 000 schools. In this programme, students not only gather data but also try to identify the reasons for poor measurement results.
Since 1999, 29 Hungarian secondary schools have joined the GLOBE Programme. One of the first ones was the István Bibó Upper Secondary General School in Kiskunhalas that has been the core institution of the Hungarian GLOBE schools since 2008.
The Association of Hungarian Talent Support Organisation (MATEHETSZ) consists of Talent Points. The Talent Points have been created as a new, accentuated organizational form for talent management, development and support, which was initiated by the National Talent Aid Council more than ten years ago (the first calls were made in 2007), both in Hungary and in the cross-border areas inhabited by Hungarians. The objective of the Talent Points is to support talented pupils, their teachers and parents, advising them and providing them career orientation. Their further task is to collaborate in the network, to enhance the sharing of experience, information flow and processing within and between institutions. The aim is to support pupils in recognising and enhancing their talent; therefore, they are provided with a wide range of customised information about their opportunities. The Network has over 1,400 members in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine and Austria.
In 2012, the Hungarian Association of Talent Relief Organizations - to extend this network model to other countries in Europe - set up the European Talent Center in 2012, whose main goal is to help the European talent support activities in cooperation with the European Council for High Ability (ECHA). In 2015 the European Council for High Ability (ECHA) Accreditation Committee accredited 14 talent centres in 13 countries, including the European Talent Centre in Budapest, from which the European Talent Aid Network was formally established in September 2015. Currently, there are 21 European and 4 non-European centres in the Network, which, thanks to their joint networking activities, now have nearly 300 talent points from 44 countries.
UNESCO Associated Schools Network
The UNESCO Associated Schools Network was established in 1953. The aim of the programme is to stimulate and strengthen the development and the testing of innovative educational content, new types of education and learning approaches, peer learning, networking and the exchange of experiences. The schools pay special attention to make pupils more aware of global issues; sustainable development; human rights and democracy; as well as improving pupil’s peaceful co-existence and intercultural dialogue. Today, this international network has 11,500 educational institutions in 182 countries. In Hungary, more than 40 schools have joined the programme.