Special Treatment, 2019. Vol. 5. (1.) - full text

Since the annexation to the European Union, exceptional attention has been directed to equal opportunities and equal treatment of disadvantaged social groups in Hungary too. The Hungarian state tries to ensure the first and foremost with legal tools. It is, however, not enough to result in lasting changes in the attitude of society. Personal experiences, as well as, positive messages transmitted by others can produce a positive effect on the development of inclusive approaches. With respect to sociodemographic characteristics (e.g. gender, age, school qualification) investigations into this field suggest different research results. The questionnaire data collection took place in three districts of Hungary. The research was aimed at questioning two test groups, on one hand, the employees of social institutions who mainly deal with disadvantaged persons, on the other hand, the residents of the given districts, who have the knowledge and approach of an average citizen.  The ingenuity of the research is put down to the fact that in Hungary there had never been researching to explore the attitudes of social employees. A total of 747 persons filled in the questionnaires, out of which 408 employees in social institutions and 339 district residents. This present study discloses the deeper connections of the research results which are observable between the two test groups’ attitudes to persons with disabilities and sociodemographic characteristics. Its significance is crucial in identifying the characteristics of the colleague playing an actual role in the integration who, as a reference person, with his own personal involvement can promote the integration of disabled persons into workplace communities. In the research of attitudes three well-distinguished clusters were outlined, which were named as follows: accepting, uncertain/indifferent, rejecting. The study investigates what kind of sociodemographic characteristics the residents, and social workers who belong to the three clusters have. Do people who belong to the same cluster posses similar attributes in both test samples?  What kind of attributes has the residents and social workers got who show a higher level of acceptance?  According to the findings of the research, the attitudes of the district residents differ in age, school qualification, and personal experience, whereas in the case of the social workers the difference in attitudes depends on age and school qualification.

The goal of this research was to investigate specific personality factors theorized to be involved in adolescents’ health behavior, such as individual differences in the level of purposes in life and the variations of life goals. The instrumentation for the study was a self-completed questionnaire, which included items for assessing health-behavior data, the Purposes in Life scale, and the Aspiration Index for life-goals’ assessment. There were 385 teenage study participants aged between 16-18 years (mean = 16.8 years; 182 boys – 47.3 % and 203 girls – 52,7%) in Transylvania, Romania. Results showed that adolescents who engaged in health-protective behaviors (e.g., physical activity, fruit /vegetable consumption) reported higher levels of purposes in life and intrinsic life-goals, such as affiliation or personal growth. Conversely, those engaged in health risky behaviors (e.g., substance use, sweet/soft drink consumption) not only reported lower levels in having a purpose in life but also tended to report fewer health goals for the future as well as personal growth. These findings argue that health professionals should incorporate and emphasize the development of teenagers’ life goals and purposes in the design and conceptualization of school-based prevention and health promotion programs that focus on fostering healthy lifestyle adoption.

In our research, we studied the leisure habits of students with disabilities (8-18 years, n = 289) living in the North Great Plain region using a questionnaire method. The aim of the research was to examine the leisure habits of children with disabilities in the region, their main characteristics, and their recreational attitudes. Our goal was also the gender test to see whether there was a significant difference between the sexes and how this correlated with the results of the study of leisure habits in the wild. We sought to find out what the most common leisure time activities for general and high school students with disabilities are, how does this affect genders? What is their attitude towards spending time on leisure? What are their sporting habits and sporting consumption? We have found that the recreational consumption of young people with disabilities is similar to the results of surveys carried among normal children as passive leisure time is dominant (listening to music, watching TV). In girls' leisure time, the preference for listening and reading is more dominant while watching TV, especially popular sports channels are more characteristic of boys. For leisure-time activities, staying fit, trying out new things, and community experience is crucial for young people with disabilities. Recreational sports prove to be popular, as more than 50% of both girls and boys say they are engaged in recreational sports.

Although time plays a role as a latent or explicit factor in all creative processes, a direct examination of the role of time occurs less frequently in creativity research (Mező K., 2017; Mainemelis, 2002; Runco, 1999). This study focuses on the revision of Hungarian versions of creativity tests because the last standardization of these tests had been for more than 30 years. The applied tests were the Alternative Uses Test (as verbal creativity test), the Circles Test (as a figural test), and the Raven nonverbal intelligence test (as a complementary means of study). The sample of this study was 1363 elementary and secondary school students, whose 35331 responses were recorded and analyzed. According to the results, the differences in scores of the old and new (revised) evaluation tables of all tests and age groups are significant (p ≤ 0,05). From the viewpoint of the revised scores, there is a significant difference with respect to fluency, originality, and flexibility in both tests and all age groups. However, the differences in scores of other indicators (average originality, relative flexibility, and revised average originality) are not significant.

The flow of information in the digital age is facilitated not only by traditional media such as television, radio, and print but also by new media such as the internet, desktops, and integrated computers, tablets, and smartphones, etc. The presence of IT tools is quite common these days among kindergarten-aged children (3-6/7), and even toddlers can use them on a daily basis. Moreover, modern pedagogy is unthinkable without digital devices that have become integral parts of innovations such as game-based learning, media-based learning, and edutainment. There are several language schools and bilingual creches where they accept very young children and babies. It is said that parents know their child best and children spend a lot of time with their parents. In consequence, this provides an excellent opportunity for parents to raise a bilingual child even if it is not his/her first language. In our paper we are combining these two, currently, central issues: the use of English-language media and early childhood language-learning, as only limited research is available about it. We are going to present the results of empirical research carried out mainly in kindergartens in Debrecen, which focused on early second language learning and the children’s use of media. Our research has two goals, so the questionnaires asked parents about the use of foreign-language media, its content and the time children spend consuming English content. In addition, we were interested in the parents’ attitude to their children’s English-language media use. We analyzed our data in the framework of early second language learning. Our research was carried out within the Early Childhood Research Group run by the Faculty of Education for Children and Special Educational Needs of the University of Debrecen. The research was carried out between October 2016 and January 2017.

The emotional ability must be properly managed in order to survive and adapt to social life so that social and emotional abilities can be trained from an early age. As a part of early childhood, kindergarten is one of the most effective places to help children develop social and emotional abilities effectively through play activities. Thus, kindergarten teachers need to find alternative activities and play equipment that can stimulate socio-emotional abilities. One way is by means of the game "Coloured Stick" made of pieces of wood that are developed by combining three types of games, namely constructive games, educational games, and traditional games. This teaching tool can be applied in an integrated manner in kindergarten learning activities, which include the opening, core, and cover with a strategy that varies according to the indicators of social-emotional development.  The learning process is the use of the game "Coloured Stick" which is systematically designed and integrated so as to facilitate its application. The application of this tool was tested in small groups of 8 students over eight meetings in July and August 2015, and a large group of 14 students over 12 meetings in August and September 2015 in Fithria Islamic Kindergarten, South Jakarta. Subjects in the test groups were teachers and kindergarten students.  The results of both the trial groups were seen from the difference between initial and final assessments. The small trial group results increased by 0.1 points (4.88%) up to 0.29 points (9.76%) whereas the large trial group results increased by 0.05 points (1.63%)to 0.93 points (30.83%). Descriptive this increase occurred in the child are varied and each child's progress in socio-emotional capabilities in the grain or indicators of social-emotional abilities are different. This is very possible because each child has a differing ability to absorb the learning content. The results show that the colored sticks game tool can help children develop social skills because the learning process can be carried out in groups. In addition to boosting the child's emotional development, it can also help children develop confidence and respect for themselves, not become easily frustrated because the concepts are according to the age and development of the children, and to exercise patience because they have to wait for their turn to play.

Absolute pitch (AP), the ability to identify and produce musical pitches without a reference point, is extremely rare and is considered to be a special ability.  Although research has focused on this topic for decades, there is no consensus about why AP only occurs in 1 out of 10.000 individuals and how it is acquired.  Therefore, the present article aims to review and reconcile the previous findings in order to understand the potential contribution of training and genetics in AP acquisition.  Based on experimental psychological and genetic findings, it is concluded that although some components of AP are implicit and exist in the general population, both early musical training and genetic factors are crucial for AP development.  This conclusion is supported by neuroscientific findings that provide evidence for differences in activations in specific brain areas between AP possessors and non-possessors.

In the ever-increasing competition between the tourist destinations, the rethinking of the primary and secondary attraction factors (Bácsné et. al., 2018), their re-planning, supplementation, and development are indispensable. This is also true for Hungary and the Northern Great Plain region, where the availability of therapeutic and thermal water is a priority factor (Müller & Könyves, 2006; Müller & Kórik 2009; Michalkó & Rácz 2011;  Löwei 2017). The further development towards accessible tourism, even for a long-standing, well-established destination in health tourism is to be considered, in order service providers not only could strengthen their existing position but also open up to new markets and consumer groups (Mosonyi et. al. 2013, Lengyel 2015).  The understanding and implementation of strategies for new consumer groups include the product and service evaluation based on individual leisure constraints.

Present paper focuses on the social inequalities that are mainly manifested in the educational system. Therefore, I aim at reflecting on the sociological definitions that codify the subject in a theoretical context. The theoretical background of the study comprises the subsequent notions: equality and equity, inclusive society and education, bicultural socialization, and the relation between social mobility and school.

Workshop Presentation: The "Csáti Refi" Program