The study analysis the interaction of the labor market and professional teacher training. It shows that our country is also going through a fundamental social and economic transformation, highlighting the crucial role of education, since competent knowledge determines the society's possibilities in the long run and promotes its development. It emphasizes that technological and technical changes make it essential to renew the goals and tasks of professional teacher education and technical pedagogy, providing even more practical preparation that assigns a greater role to students' activity and project work. The study underscores the importance of continuous development in the modern knowledge, methodology, and digital culture of university instructors to ensure the quality assurance of technical pedagogy training.

The study examines the recruitment trends in Hungarian vocational teacher education between 2016 and 2025, focusing on five key programmes: agricultural engineering teacher, health sciences teacher, economics teacher, engineering teacher, and social studies teacher education. Using quantitative time series analysis based on the publicly available felvi.hu database, the research explores changes in the number of applicants and admitted students, trends in first-choice applications, and shifts in gender distribution among students. The results indicate a general but varying degree of growth after 2022, which was particularly strong in the fields of economics, agriculture, and engineering. Distinct patterns emerge across the examined disciplines: while health and social studies programmes remain female-dominated, engineering teacher education continues to be characterized by a high proportion of male students. Overall, the 2016–2025 period reflects a partial restoration of prestige in vocational teacher education.

The development and transformation of vocational teacher education grounded in university traditions has been analysed by several Hungarian researchers (Ballér 1991; Katona 2015; Orosz 2003; Patyi 2021). There are also studies that trace the evolution of individual programmes—such as engineering teacher education (Holik, Nemes-Németh and Sanda 2021; Horváth 2013), agricultural engineering teacher education (Surányi 2018), and economics teacher education (Antal and Baksa 2013) from their inception to the present day. Beyond historical and structural analyses, research has also addressed the methodological and curricular characteristics of these programmes (Benedek and Szabóné Berki 2011). However, only a limited number of studies have examined the recruitment base of applicants entering vocational teacher training (Szabóné Berki 2015; Engler et al. 2017; Máté-Szabó 2019). More recently, scholarship in the field has shifted towards VET-pedagogical perspectives and methodological renewal (Rádli 2011; Tóth 2012; Szabóné Berki 2015; Tordai 2015; Holik 2016), as well as institutional case studies (Bacsa-Bán 2014; Tóth 2011; Nagyné 2024). The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the sociocultural background, prior educational pathways, and learning motivations of students enrolled in Hungarian vocational teacher education. Our research examined 215 students across four study programmes: agricultural engineering teacher, health teacher, economics teacher, and engineering teacher education. Findings show that vocational teacher training predominantly enrols adult learners who typically possess multiple degrees, substantial professional experience, and a stable family background. The study also explores geographical access to programmes, students’ satisfaction, and their attitudes towards learning. Regarding learning motivation, two key dimensions were identified: emotional–self-realisation motives and external, instrumental drivers. Results indicate that family status exerts a significant influence on intrinsic motivation; single students demonstrate substantially stronger knowledge-acquisition and self-development intentions compared to married or divorced peers.

The recruitment and training of vocational instructors represent one of the most pressing challenges in the Hungarian vocational education system, simultaneously addressing the need for teacher supply and the attractiveness of the profession. The aim of this study was to explore how students entering vocational instructor training between 2021 and 2024 assess their own strengths along the character dimensions identified by positive psychology, and what changes can be observed across cohorts. The analysis, based on a sample of 221 students, employed descriptive statistics, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and cluster analysis. Findings indicate that students’ strength profiles are generally at a high level, particularly in curiosity, love of learning, kindness, and integrity. Two distinct profiles emerged: a high and a more reserved self-assessment group. The increase in conscientiousness suggests that entrants to the program are increasingly characterized by a strong sense of vocation and responsibility. From a pedagogical perspective, differentiated development strategies are needed, while from a recruitment perspective, vocational instructor training can be positioned as a profession offering value-based, community-oriented, and personal development opportunities.

The study aims to explore the recruitment patterns and motivational backgrounds of students entering vocational teacher education. The research focuses on part-time vocational teacher students at Dunaújváros University, who come from various industrial sectors. The empirical survey was conducted in spring 2025 through an online questionnaire, completed by 100 respondents. The questions addressed the reasons for choosing the teaching profession, the relationship between professional experience and motivation, and attitudes towards the teaching role. The findings reveal that students are primarily motivated by a commitment to knowledge sharing, professional growth, and a desire for a stable career. At the same time, some responses indicate uncertainty about the prestige and practical challenges of the teaching profession. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of recruitment trends in vocational teacher education and may serve as a basis for improving the content and support elements of teacher training programs.

In our study, we examine the characteristics of professional teacher training programs at the University of Debrecen, the career motivations, training experiences, and future plans of graduates and current students, with the aim of better understanding the motivations for participating in professional teacher training, the experiences of participants, and their attitudes toward a career in professional teaching. We used an online questionnaire for data collection, which was based on a measurement tool from previous research by Barbara Máté Szabó and Edina Márkus. We modified a few points in the basic questionnaire and also included the FIT-Choice scale to measure career choice motives. The vast majority of respondents obtained their degree(s) at the University of Debrecen. According to our results, respondents chose their career path based on internal motivation, interest in the profession, and commitment, rather than external pressure or as a last resort. Our results partially confirm previous analyses conducted on Hungarian samples, namely that intrinsic motivations are decisive in choosing a teaching career.

Teacher career choice has become a prominent field of research in educational sciences over the past decade, with increasing attention to motivations related to adult career change. This study examines the choice of the teaching profession from a life-course and reflexive perspective, employing the FIT-Choice model developed by Watt and Richardson (2007) exclusively as a deductive reference framework, while remaining open to the contextual specificities of Hungarian vocational teacher education. The empirical basis of the research consists of N = 187 motivation letters submitted by applicants to the engineering teacher and economics teacher education programmes at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The texts were analysed using qualitative methods with the support of Atlas.ti software, applying a combined deductive–inductive coding strategy. The analysis identified six major motivational dimensions, which partially correspond to the theoretical categories of the FIT-Choice model, while also revealing novel, context-specific motives embedded in the Hungarian higher education and societal environment. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of contemporary interpretations of the teaching profession within an increasingly unstable social context.

The paper examines the digital competences of vocational technical instructor with a self-developed questionnaire, which is used as part of the new admission procedure for applicants to the vocational technical instructor (BSc) program, introduced from 2021. The sample consists of responses from applicants for admission in three academic years.  The questions of the research were: 1. What are their ideas about and future plans for learning?; 2. What is the level of deve-lopment of their digital competencies? The results of the research contribute to the continuous renewal of the educational strategies of technical instructor stu-dents and the development of the methodology of higher education. The results of their attitudes towards the use of IT tools contribute to the evaluation and, if necessary, the transformation of existing forms of learning organization. The results of each dimension of digital competencies determine the introduction of new digital methods.

The labour market expects that beginners have advanced communication, organizational and problem-solving skills, analogical and logical thinking, creativity, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and be assertive and motivated. In professional teacher training, especially with regard to vocational education and training (VET), the role of these transversal competencies is, if possible, even more important, since it will be the task of teachers to develop these competencies of students in VET. In this research, the development of inductive thinking of students in vocational instructor training (VIT) was assessed. The inductive, and within that abstract, thinking of the 60 students participating in the correspondence VIT shows a very diverse picture. We managed to isolate a relatively small group who achieved good results with a small investment of time, so their thinking can be said to be fast and effective. However, there was also a larger group who made full use of the available time but whose inductive thinking was less developed. Both groups deserve special attention from a methodological point of view.

Frequencies and background variables of adolescent substance use vary across cultural and national boundaries which may raise the question of whether culture significantly impacts these behaviors. While trends of smoking and drinking are slowly decreasing in the European region, we know less about them in Central Asian countries, like Mongolia. Our cross-sectional study aims to examine adolescent substance use in two samples of Mongolian (N = 312, mean age = 16.85 years, 34.0% boys) and Hungarian (N = 320, mean age = 16.32 years, 49.4% boys) youth. Besides smoking and drinking, the questionnaire contained measures on social support, parental control, religiosity and SES self-assessment. Descriptive statistics reported not only a greater occurrence of substance use in Hungarian adolescents, but also a lack of gender differences as compared to Mongolian adolescents. While the role of familial support was stronger among Mongolian adolescents, parental control provided more protection for Hungarian youth. SES self-assessment and religiosity were not important correlates in either sample. Our findings highlight the need for considering both universal and specific cultural influences.