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The Dimensions of Parent-School Partnership
98-101.Views:223Bibliography of the reviewed special issue: Pusztai, G., & Engler, Á. (Eds.) (2020). Value-Creating Pedagogy in School and Family. Kapocs, Special Issue. Maria Kopp Institute for Demography and Families (KINCS).
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Big Brother Mentoring in the Let's Teach for Hungary Program
114-141Views:434The number of mentoring programs within the framework of schools is increasing both internationally and domestically (Raufelder & Ittel, 2012; Fejes et. al., 2009). Besides traditional mentoring, the role of peer mentoring (Miller, 2002) has also come to the fore in recent years. In our study, we focus on cross-age peer mentoring (Miller, 2002; Sipe, 2005), where older youth mentor younger youth. One example of this in Hungary is the Let's Teach for Hungary (LTHMP) mentoring program, where undergraduate students mentor primary school students. In our research, we studied mentors at the University of Debrecen who had completed at least two semester-long cycles in the program. We were curious about how the COVID-19 pandemic period affected mentoring, so we examined the transition of a mentoring program based on a personal meeting to online mentoring, and its pivotal points, advantages, and disadvantages. As a method, we used qualitative interview analysis, during which we worked with semi-structured interviews, recorded in the spring of 2020 and 2021 – during the global pandemic situation – with a total of 50 mentors. The content analysis of the interview texts was performed based on the codes formulated based on the theory, and the emic codes emerged in the interviews (Creswell, 2012). Our results show that mentors can be grouped into different types based on their attitudes towards online mentoring. Overall, the digital transition has been a big challenge. The biggest problem was the lack of equipment. The issue of age has been also an important factor in terms of the sense of digital comfort. We noticed the phenomenon of Big Brother Mentoring and the importance of chameleon mentors. Our research, which can fill a gap, highlights both the challenges and benefits of online mentoring. In addition, we can also contribute to the effective and successful operation of the Let's Teach for Hungary Mentoring Program.
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Correlation Between Educational Performance, Family Background and Settlement Type in Covasna County, Romania
62-69Views:379In social sciences, a more sophisticated way of examining students' school performance, based on the combination of school and family factors, is becoming increasingly popular. Important indicators of schools operating in a given territorial and societal context can be obtained both at student and institutional levels if territorial characteristics are included. In our research we examine the correlation between family background and performance, and investigate the settlement type where the proportion of students from low SES schools is the highest. At the same time we are also curious whether there is a greater chance of resilience in smaller communities. Our results show that the majority of students from low SES schools study in small settlements, but resilience is clearly not more typical in smaller communities.
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Parent-Teacher Communication from the Perspective of the Educator
13-24.Views:2695Several, mostly quantitative, studies have already examined the relationship between teachers and parents, as well as the positive effects of parental involvement. The aim of this study is to explore how parental involvement is realized in communication between the two actors. In the framework of a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 teachers teaching in elementary schools, and the analysis was performed using the Atlas.ti software. Based on our findings, we concluded that regular communication, common language use, a positive attitude from both parties, and the appropriate use of information and communication technology tools are essential for effective communication. The practical significance of this is that teacher trainees should also emphasize practical education, with a special focus on their ability to establish appropriate communication with parents of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
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Encouraging Musical Creativity in Montenegrin Primary Education – A Case Study
27-35Views:455The need to change the paradigm of music education, which primarily relies on performing and listening to music, implies a more systematic introduction of activities that would enable the direct involvement of children in the exploration of sounds and the creation of their own music. By analysing the curricula and textbooks for music education in Montenegrin primary schools, as well as examining the attitudes of teachers about the realisation of musical creativity in teaching practice, it was found that these activities are not given enough attention. In order to introduce innovations in practice, an action research study was conducted, during 2017/2018 school year with 30 fifth grade pupils in one primary school, belonging to the Southern region of Montenegro. The obtained results, based on the qualitative findings, showed the connection between the categories that make up musical creativity in the classroom: acquiring musical knowledge, developing musical skills, encouraging problem solving, developing critical thinking, supporting collaborative creativity, motivation and integrative teaching. Hopefully, the conducted research will contribute to a wide range of understanding of musical creativity in the classroom context, as one of the leading topics of contemporary music pedagogy.
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Higher Education Choice in China: Social Class, Gender, Parental Involvement and Educational Inequality
97-100Views:626Bibliography of the review book: Sheng, X. (2014). Higher Education Choice in China: Social Class, Gender, Parental Involvement and Educational Inequality. Routledge. 173 pp., ISBN: 978-0-415-84309-6. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315814254
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The Pedagogy of Witness. An Anthropological-Kreygmatic Perspective by Zbigniew Marek SJ & Anna Walulik CSFN – the Reflective Challenge for Education
111-115Views:273Review of the book The pedagogy of witness. An anthropological-kreygmatic perspective, by Zbigniew Marek SJ & Anna Walulik CSFN
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Wind Bands for Hungarian Community Music
90-97Views:306The scholarly study of community bands as music communities can be considered a relatively young trend even on an international level. Despite this fact, there is more and more research done on the potential effects they may have on society and music education. Our national literary records on wind bands, however, are mainly focused on their historical background and their legacy in the military. Thus, there is an insufficient amount of information provided on the aspects of sociology and pedagogy. Besides the literary comparison done in our research, we also study the resupply of our national bands in music schools, using available data from the the 2016/2017 Statistical Yearbook of Public Education. This paper serves mainly as a tool of problem identification, laying the groundwork for further researches done in this area.
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Andrew Shorten’s Multiculturalism: The Political Theory of Diversity Today
104-107Views:204Bibliography of the reviewed book: Shorten, A. (2022). Multiculturalism: The political theory of diversity today. Polity Press.
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At the Crossroad of Cultures: Education and Identity of Hungarian Deaf Learners in Romania
68-78Views:316Deaf people living in ethnic-national minority situation form a social group whose members have multiple cultural backgrounds. Starting from interpretations which are viewing the deaf child as a member of a distinct cultural and linguistic minority, I studied the education of Hungarian deaf pupils in Romania graduating from the Hungarian Special School in Cluj/Kolozsvár/Klausenburg, with particular regard to the relationship between formal and informal language use in school, communication culture and identity. Methodologically the research is based on life path interviews with Hungarian Deaf Special School graduates, family case studies of two or three generation deaf families and structured interviews with experienced educators. The research results reveal that the educational practice of the concerned educational institution strengthens the pupils' identity awareness and sense of belonging to the Hungarian nation in two distinct, still interconnected ways: on the one hand, through oral language acquisition, nursing the oral Hungarian language skills, and on the other hand through cultivating the Hungarian Sign Language embedded in the deaf culture within the learner community. Nowadays, the conditions and modalities of exercising this role are changing in several respects. The positive educational effects achieved so far can be reinforced and strengthened by educational policies based on the recognition and cultivation of cultural diversity, in all its complex and multifaceted manifestations, including the peculiar needs of ethnic minority deaf learners.
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International Perspectives on Inclusive Education In the Light of Educational Justice
81-84Views:267Bibliography of the reviewed book: Norwich, B., Seitz, S., Mackenzie, A., Magnússon, G., & Barow, T. (2024). International perspectives on inclusive education: In the light of educational justice. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 39(2), 327–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2023.2299148
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APPetite for Something New: The Katona József Library’s Mobile Application
35-44Views:264The Katona József Library of Bács-Kiskun County has always placed great emphasis on reaching out to all age groups. In order to achieve our goal, we need to be informed and up-to-date with the latest trends and to be present on as many virtual platforms as possible. That’s why, at the beginning of 2021, a few enthusiastic librarians of our institution thought that a library mobile app could be the next important milestone in our continuous development and renewal. All this experimentation and testing has finally paid off: the Katona József Library’s mobile app is available on the Google Play Store from Autumn 2021. It’s no secret that our primary goal with our entirely self-developed, in-house app was to target young people, perhaps the hardest-to-reach age group for libraries. So, in addition to creating content specifically for teens (book reviews, games), we also wanted the look and feel of the app to be coherent and dynamic. Of course, we did not want the app to replace our library’s website, but to provide content that could be enjoyed on a smaller screen. As the application is easy to navigate and use, so that older people who are generally less familiar with the digital world will have no problems using it. For those who are a little apprehensive, one of our tutorials promoting the app will give them all the help they need to become a confident user. So what does our library app do? In addition to the Programme Guide, there is a dedicated menu with a regularly updated document guide. And with our ever-expanding thematic video selection, you can watch videos of our library programmes at any time. Of course, a library mobile app would be useless without a Catalogue menu, so webOPAC is also just a click away. With our Virtual Tour, which is unique among national library mobile apps, you can even take a look around our library from the comfort of your own home, sitting in your armchair. Games were also included in the app. We have thought of games for all ages, with four to four games for children, teens and adults. Puzzles are mainly related to the world of books, but there are also some puzzles on local history. We hope that our innovation will live up to our expectations and will appeal to a wider audience than just young people. Our aim is to ensure that our application remains a popular and constantly renewing service in the long term.
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Tablets in Hungarian Primary Schools: An Empirical Study of Institution-level Application
29-37Views:534The increasing interest in introducing tablets into education as well as many countries’ education policies (see Digital Education Strategy) support the integration of the above-mentioned mobile devices (Mulet, van de Leemput & Amadieu, 2019). Accordingly, several governments are presently procuring or have already supplied a significant number of students with these devices (Tamim et al., 2015). Similar to most international large-scale initiatives, there are remarkable variances in tablet-supported education. The different school conditions (infrastructure, framework, human resources) result in the diversity of technological integration. In our research, in order to learn more about the infrastructural conditions at schools’ institutional levels, with online questionnaires we examined 145 primary schools using tablets in their education. We were looking to answer the following, questions: (1) what kind of infrastructural conditions are characteristic of the different institutions? (2) What kind of differences in infrastructural conditions are there between the schools in different settlements? To sum up the results, we can observe significant differences in the number of tablets, their hardware, accessories and software, along with differences in internet access and the regulation thereof.
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Opportunities and Barriers in the Partnership Between Foster Families and Schools
Views:116The primary socialisation area is the family, and the secondary socialisation area is educational institutions. From the point of view of educational sociology, the meeting between the family and the school institution represents the intersection of these socialisation areas (Kozma, 2001; cited in Bacskai, 2020). This issue and its methodological development is something that Joyce Epstein has been working since the 1980s (Epstein, 1986; Epstein, 1987). According to Pusztai (2020a), parenting can be understood as a multifaceted concept, typically referring to the mutual relationship between parent and child. Researchers have focused on this parenting resource mainly from the perspective of the child's progress at school and learning at home, with the parent acting as an external supporter of the work in school. In this research we focus on the specific characteristics of the cooperation between foster parents and schools, and examine the characteristics of foster parent involvement, along with the supporting and detrimental factors of the partnership between foster parents and teachers at the intersection of child protection and public education. Recently, the number of research studies on foster care has increased (Erdei, 2019; Rácz, 2021), but the relationship between foster parents and teachers is still a little-researched area in Hungary. The novelty of our qualitative research lies in the fact that we are dealing with a special, rarely studied group of parents in Hajdú-Bihar County in terms of family-school relations. The second phase of the analysis has us exploring the narratives of teachers. Our basic research questions are: (1) How can the relationship between foster families and school be characterized? (2) What are the forms of contact and cooperation between foster families and teachers? (3) What factors support or hinder the development of partnerships between foster families and teachers? The focus group data collection was based on semi-structured interview schedules. The research participants were foster parents (N=15) and teachers (N=10). The interviews were coded and analysed using Atlas.ti software. The results show that, overall, there is regular, daily, mainly personal contact between foster parents and teachers. The teacher's tolerant attitude, taking into account the specific educational situation, appeared as a supportive factor. However, there were also a number of cases reported by foster parents where they had been received negatively by teachers. In order to facilitate collaboration between the two parties, teachers would like to receive training (foster families, foster-parent-school collaboration) and would find it useful to have ongoing supervision.
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Women in the Blind Spot: Review of Invisible Women
164-165Views:228Bibliography of the reviewed book: Perez, C. C. (2019). Invisible Women: exposing data bias in a world designed for men. Abrams Press.
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Elementary Art School of Folk Dance and Music in the Context of Regional Culture-Oriented Schools in Slovakia
16-26Views:487In the study, we present the basic goals, content, strategies and organisational forms of education of the Elementary Art School of Folk Dance and Music in Ružomberok. The basic information about the school is supplemented with the ideas of its founder and the school principal, as well as the photo documentation of this school environment. We analyse this school model in the broader context of elementary regional culture-oriented schools, which began to develop in Slovakia after 1989. In connection with the school reform in 2008, the educational content of such schools was transformed and defined in the State Education Programme in the subject of Regional Education and cross-cutting topic Regional Education and Folk Culture. In addition to other alternative and innovative educational programmes in Slovakia, the regional culture-oriented school represents a domestic model of education, which is based on the historical and cultural peculiarities of individual regions of Slovakia. Despite the uniform name, each school with this orientation can have a unique character expressed in its school curriculum.
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Criteria determining school choice among the ethnic minority high school students
17-25Views:289In our paper we sought for the answer to the question: based on which motives do students from various types of high schools (in our case, denominational or non- denominational school) make their choice of educational institution? The target group of our research consists of the 9th and 11th grade students of Harghita County’s denominational (Roman Catholic, Reformed, Unitarian) schools and the non-denominational ones added to them. All in all, eight high schools got into our sample. We conducted a survey by questionnaire, the sample including 1,064 people. We analyzed the decision criteria formed based on motives behind the decision (primary and secondary effects) on the one hand, and followed the decision making process on the other. The non-denominational sector is often chosen by the elite- and institution-oriented student group, who has great expectations of the institution, e.g. - top of the line standards of education, outstanding achievement indicators, prestige of the institution, local reputation. According to the clusters created from the motives, the value- and community-oriented student group, as well as the one following the orientation of the peer group, can be found in significantly higher proportion in denominational schools.
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Gender Differences Among Teacher Education Students in Light of a Pilot Study
80-93.Views:226This paper aims to present the measurement tool designed to examine gender differences among teacher education students and the results obtained during the research. The theoretical section of the paper describes teachers’ and parents’ influence on children’s gender role attitudes, gender socialization and career orientation. To prepare the questionnaire, we analyzed the Hungarian and international literature and built on the results of our previous qualitative research. We grouped our questions into three dimensions: (1) gender socialization in the family, (2) parental involvement, (3) gender socialization at school and career orientation. According to our results, gender-neutral toys were more often chosen by male students’ parents, and mothers were more involved in their children’s school activities than fathers, setting higher expectations as well. Teachers and parents, especially mothers, played an important role in students’ career choice. In addition, students perceived that teachers handled them differently depending on their gender in terms of the evaluation of their academic progress and behavior as well as the frequency of compliments and punishment.
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Foreign Language Interpretation in Teaching Soloist Singing
75-89Views:232The problems of singing in the original language have become a special feature of the soloist training in the Central and Eastern Europe. The linguistic aspects of soloist training is put to the test by international expectation that regards authentic singing in the original language as a natural part of professional efficiency. In this present paper we are looking for the answers to two questions. First, we examined what factors determine the choice of the language for vocal interpretation. Our second goal is to give an overview of a specific segment of today’s Hungarian students’ population in higher education. We examined institutional, personal and curricular components for perfecting singing in the original language. The empirical study field of our research was Hungary’s higher education institutions of music in the 2016/17 term. Our researches were based on two methodological techniques. Among the higher education instructors of solo singers we conducted structured interviews and students from six higher educational institutions with this profile were the respondents of our questionnaire. The quantitative analysis of the research unequivocally represented the stronger demand of students for the training of linguistic interpretation. Our empirical research showed that the language efficiency of the solo singer students does not meet professional expectations. Pronunciation, comprehension, vocabulary, command of language and intonation are not utilized while singing and using the mirror effect of singing in a foreign language does not help perfect language knowledge either.
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Digital Creativity Development in an E-learning Environment – A 3D Design Project
49-54Views:447During the pandemic, arts disciplines had to seek new paths for creation to continue visual skills development outside the studio. ICTs offer a natural tool set for individual and collaborative work and sharing online. 3D design and the development of digital creativity can represent new directions for Hungarian art education and its major discipline called Visual Culture. With this tool, visual art education can proceed on the bumpy road to teach the visual language of the 21st century. Certainly, technological focus is not the only option for progress in art education. Nevertheless, if we look for possible directions for renewal, we cannot ignore the use of software products that support visual creativity,and are becoming more and more easily available, simpler and free of charge. This paper focuses on the pedagogical possibilities of 3D printing. We present an experimental program with secondary school students aged 16 years, that started and ended face-to-face and was partly realised online. As the project manifests a creative synergy of Visual Culture and Information Technology disciplines that may be of interest for art and ICT educators as well.
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Assessing Children’s Mastery Motivation using the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ): Theoretical and Practical Consideration
90-93Views:267Bibliography of the reviewed book: Morgan, G. A., Liao, H.-F., & Józsa, K. (Eds.) (2020). Assessing Mastery Motivation in Children Using the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ). Gödöllő: Szent István Egyetem.
http://www.staff.u-szeged.hu/~jozsa/DMQbook.html -
The Effectiveness of Indigenous African Values in Building the Resilience of Out-Of-School Suspended Learners
Views:116This study explores the effectiveness of indigenous African values in building the resilience of suspended learners in South African township schools. Schools often impose suspensions in response to a wide range of behaviour challenges established by legislators and officials to address problems related to school interruptions. Nevertheless, despite the established disciplinary procedures, students still exhibit difficult behaviour. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of African Indigenous values in building the resilience of suspended learners. The study comes from larger research that focuses on the experiences of suspended learners in the context of township secondary schools. This research study is qualitative in nature to provide a rich description of the parents' experiences in their natural setting. I used a purposive sample of parents of suspended learners based on the characteristics of the population and the objective of the study. I collected data using face-to-face interviews, field notes, and documents. The collected data was organised, organized, prepared systematically, and classified into themes and categories. The findings showed that given the increasing number of suspended learners in township schools, parents and the school community recognised the need to understand the risk factors that contribute to behaviour problems as a stepping stone to building the resilience of adolescents.
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Conflicts in Physical Education Classes - A Systems Theoretical Analysis of the Teacher’s Perspective
11-20Views:405This article presents the results of a systems theoretical analysis of conflicts in physical education classes from the teacher’s perspective. Building on the state of current research, a theoretical model to analyse the development and management of sport related conflicts in the school setting is elaborated. This model is used to examine written assignments collected at university seminars on conflicts in a German sport institute. At these seminars, sport science students submitted 40 detailed descriptions of conflicts in physical education classes, which were either collected through an interview or experienced directly in their role as teachers. The empirical material is analysed using qualitative content analysis. Based on a fictive case that is developed for exemplification purposes, all collected cases are considered against the background of the developed model. It differentiates between trivial, stable, slightly, and highly escalated conflicts and examines suitable management strategies. The study concludes that trivial conflicts are common in physical education classes, that teachers use different strategies to manage them, and that this issue is dealt with differently at the organisational level. This preliminary model can be improved through further empirical research that compares different school forms and levels of education at the national and international level.
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New Possibilities in Cultural Consumption. The Effect of the Global Pandemic on Listening to Music
1-15Views:1026In this study, we address the impact of COVID-19 on classical music concerts. New forms of cultural consumption and their convenience have raised the question as to whether concert halls will still be needed in the future, and whether the audience will take on the extra time and effort to be present in person at a musical artistic event. In an analysis of international surveys, we formed an accurate picture of music listening habits in the period before and during the pandemic. We also administered a survey, completed by 134 music teachers. Although the findings cannot be generalised to society as a whole, the respondents in the sample are well acquainted with the artistic setting and possess sufficient prior experience, so their opinion is relevant to the topic. Despite the convenience of the online space and the rich selection of art available, the interviewed music teachers will still prefer live music events, which offer them a more profound experience.
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Spirituality and Concept of ’Child’ in Kokas Pedagogy for Children with Special Educational Needs
11-16Views:550Klára Kokas was a music teacher and music psychologist (1929-2010). Her method is based on music, motion and manual arts, therefore it can be defined as a form of reform pedagogy, otherwise it is called complex art pedagogy. The main elements and characteristics of Klára Kokas’s pedagogy were revolutionary new ideas in the fields of personality development, and music education – compared to the practices of reform pedagogy trends in the 20th century Europe and the United States (Pukánszky-Németh, 1996). The main elements of this concept are music, dance improvisation, motion, imaginative stories, visual arts, painting and drawing. However, its most important component is the very specific and intimate relation, which connected her to children. This distinctive feature of the Kokas-method is hard to teach. Klára Kokas approached to people with problems, suffering and disabilities, especially to marginalized and disadvantaged children with utmost empathy. She struggled to develop the social-cognition skills and affectionate behavior of the handicapped children through her own invented musical method.Her writings reflected her relationship with God, namely the presence of Him which can be felt behind the scenes. His name was mostly unspoken, yet when she named Him, it was to reveal that God was always in her mind, like in her words and musical activities too.The goal of this paper is to search and frame that text corpus, which can outline the spirituality of Klára Kokas with the aim of drawing up her relationship with God and children – according to her publications, writings, essays, books, short-film compilations, movie archives and interviews (Kokas, 1992; 1999; 2002; 2007; 2012; 2013). The contours of her spirituality from her teachings, manuscripts and publications couldn’t be attributed to any religious denomination. Also, to be presented are her notions about youth and teenage spirit and a unique relation with the world, her own students, the talents, the music and the holiness: the spirituality of Klára Kokas. The importance of beliefs and moral convictions in the art of education will be outlined.A single paragraph of about 150-200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a complete overview of the work. We encourage authors to use the following style of abstracts: background, methods, results and conclusion. The abstract should give an objective representation of the article.