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Family perspectives for young people growing up in child protection care
67-87Views:291The study examines the factors of family perspectives among vulnerable youths – children and youth living in alternative care – with qualitative method. The target group is children who live in the Hungarian child protection system as juveniles. Children and young people experiencing different family substitute arenas may result in various family perspectives. These family perspectives are examined within a theoretical framework of family sociology and human ecology.We used a complex approach to describe the experiences and changes of these structural and family-replacer dimensions together with their impacts on the family perspective. We have found that the family perspectives of the young people are diverse and their narratives about their visions of the future are often linked to dominant family and life events previously experienced in family milieus and forms of care. At the same time, the complexity of life events and the diversity of future plans are not necessarily reflected in the institutional background and the professional-young relationships that could support young people’s autonomy. Based on the interviews, the family and community levels of the human ecology model can also be a significant factor in young people’s family perspectives, so cooperation between family and community, institutional actors can be one of the keys to providing adequate support for young people. In order to realize future plans for family perspectives, professionals need to focus more on individual needs and the diversity and variability of family perspectives.
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The place and role of field studies in teaching medical sociology
44-55Views:204Introduction: The goals of the subject of Medical sociology are to familiarize and explain the relationships between social environment and health. The theoretical and practical elements of the medical sociology education and the field studies that form a part of practical work serve these goals. During filed studies, we build on the previous knowledge and experience of the
students. Method: The themes of the field studies change from semester to semester. From the series of studies we picked three themes that were connected to and built on each other. We present the role of field studies through their description and the explanation of our experiences. Results: Field studies add empirical skills and experience to the knowledge acquired during the
theoretical and practical training of medical sociology. The field study assignments also serve to strengthen the effects of the “hidden curriculum”, the process of the indirect professional socialization at the medical school. Furthermore, the new knowledge and skills give the students a better understanding of the scientific literature helping them in the interpretation of statistical
and methodological aspects of biomedical results and concepts. Conclusion: Our experiences show that field studies are an efficient teaching method. Its most important outcome is sensitizing medical students towards health related social problems and helping them to understand and handle such problems. -
Hungarian Academics Working Abroad: Female and Male Career Paths
23-48Views:326Transnational mobility has not only become an integral part of the successful, internatonally driven career path of academics, but is emerging to a great extent as a major performance requirement. Similarly to academic careers in general, international mobility of researchers is also a gendered process to a great extent. This paper aims to assess the most important characteristics of Hungarian researchers working abroad with special attention put on the similarities and differences identified in the career path of female and male researchers. With an online self-administered questionnaire distributed through a snowball sampling methodology
among Hungarian PhD-holders working abroad for more than one year, we investigated the motivation for international mobility, the career path, work contracts, work-life balance, future career plans and the perception of the value of the PhD degree. Our key findings indicate that male researchers’s labour market position is more advantageous abroad than female researchers’ and overall they are more convinved of the positive value of their PhD degree, while female academics were statisfied, but at a more moderate level. -
Challenges in rural Hungary in the post-pandemic period: Perception of problems in „emerging settlements” of Sellye district
5-31Views:357The social problems of marginalised rural areas have intensified and transformed in recent years, particularly in the context of pandemic and economic crisis. In the countries of the Central and Eastern European region integration of marginalized areas is a major challenge. Unlike in the West, segregation and ghettoisation are problems of small rural settlements far from prosperous centres. In Hungarian countryside, the life of small villages, which are located far from economic centres and lack institutions, continues to be characterised by negative migration trends. In this article, we present the situation of seven small villages in southern Baranya, which are covered by the programme to help the 300 most disadvantageous Hungarian settlements to integration, in the light of the perception of problems of the population living there. Our survey aimed to explore the difficulties related to the pandemic and everyday life at local level. The assessment of subjective perceptions provided an opportunity to structure the disadvantaged rural population from a specific perspective and to analyse the problems of the characteristics of each group.
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Deficiencies in the doctor-sick people/patient relationship. Chances and possibilities at the intersection of bioethical and sociology of health investigations
Views:278This paper brings into focus the theme of doctor-sick people/patient relationship by means of boethical principles interpreted in sociocultural perspective. The author, based on German literature, holds that the transformation of docor-sick people relationship [Arzt-Kranke-Verhältnis] into doctor-patient relationship [Arzt-Patient-Verhältnis] is one of the conditions and elements
of modern medicine. Its realization requires disseminate and making general the patient’s principle of autonomy, his right to self determination and his right to informed consent in Hungarian patient care. This civilization challenge – namely the adjustment of the quality of all elements of medicine (including attitudes) to the criteria and standards of modern medicine – is the interest
of all concerned in health care. In this setting interdisciplinary work is being offered by bioethics, for example to the sociology of health. -
Themes of medical profession and professional socialization in medical sociology textbooks
79-97Views:217Introduction: The present study examines the information on the medical profession and how the changes occurring in the medical practice, the social role and the evaluation of the physician are reflected in the English and Hungarian language medical sociology textbooks used in Hungary. Method: We analyzed chapters of Hungarian language medical sociology textbooks of the
last 25 years that discuss medical profession and student choices, and textbooks used in English language courses of Semmelweis University. Results: The corpus of the Hungarian textbooks (history of medical profession, medical role models, models of doctor-patient relationships, medical socialization) stayed relatively unchanged. While preserving the myth of the medical profession, there are criticisms towards the role and relationship models. The theme of the medical education gradually disappears from the
English language textbooks. The social positions of the medical profession and health care are discussed in a broader context, focusing on the health care system and health care provision, incorporating the allied professions, and taking aspects of patients/consumers into greater consideration. Summary: Both textbook types reflect on the changes in the social position of the medical profession. However, the English literature approaches the modernization processes from the angles of the health care system and health care provision, resulting in the diminishing importance of the topic of medical profession while the Hungarian literature focuses on the profession and professional education of physicians. -
The Career-building effect of volunteering in higher education
146-160Views:335Nowadays the motives for volunteering are changing among higher education students, and
besides traditional altruistic motives, career-building motives also appear (the acquisition
of work experience and professional knowledge, professional development, networking,
the presentation of voluntary work in the resume). In this paper, we use data from a survey
conducted in five Central and Eastern European countries (N=2,199) to examine through linear
regression analysis the factors affecting the strength of career-building motives and to analyse
through a logistic regression model the determinants of whether or not volunteering is related to the field of study. Our hypotheses are formulated based on the literature. Our results show
that career-building motives are more pronounced among women and students who have a
close relationship with external friends outside the university, study outside Hungary, and study
something other than engineering, computer science or science. Voluntary work is more likely to
be related to the field of study among teacher education students, students with an unfavourable
financial situation, those who study in Romania, and those who have a close relationship with
faculty. -
An "integrated" volume on social inclusion
256-264Views:141In 2012, an important volume was published again by the Institute of Sociology, which seeks to answer the question raised by the previous volumes, such as "Social Intersections", as a possible new framework for approaching and interpreting sociology, but also perhaps as a new paradigm. In the volume's Introduction, the editors conceive of social integration as the central element of this possible new conceptual framework, conceptual system, assuming that it can carry a new synthesis of social inequalities, new redistribution, new market order, consumer society and relational society - the volume as a whole provides convincing answers to the theoretical questions raised in this regard.
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Literature review of the national identity of hungarians in Vojvodina between 1920–1898, I.
109-135Views:289Our paper follows on the observation made by Ferenc Pataki who stated that national identity is
a collective identity shaped by both political/citizenship-related and cultural elements. While
these two elements are usually similar, the national identity of people from ethnic minorities
differ along these two identities. Our analysis discusess the changes that happened during the
hundred years since the Treaty of Trianion to these two elements of the national identity of the
following three generations of Hungarians in Vojvodina: between the two World Wars, those
who grew up during the communism and those who became adults after 1990. We conclude that
the first generation retained their cultural-historical national identiy formed before Wold War I
but they did not develop Hungarian or South Slavic national idenities. To replace the South
Slavic identity they developed a regional identity to Vojvodina. The second generation, who were
born and raised after 1945, developed Yugoslavian political/citizenship-related national identy
through socialisation in a new political system and a regional identity to Vojvodina, which meant
an alienation from Hungary. As a result of their shattered cultural-historical national identity,
they started to assimilate, some of them lost their Hungarian cultural-historical identity and
acquired a Serbian or Yugoslavian national identity instead. The national identity of the third
generation who grew up after 1990 will be discussed in a second paper. -
Schools on the Edge – Struggling with Multiple Disadvantages in Numbers
5-27Views:37This introductory study examines the situation of small rural schools in Hungary using statistical data from 1990 to 2022. The paper aimed to identify settlements where primary education has been permanently absent or operates in a limited “small school” format. Findings reveal that school closures and the transformation into small schools are concentrated in peripheral areas burdened by social, economic, and infrastructural disadvantages. Nearly half of Hungarian settlements lack a primary school, while the number of small schools has steadily declined, with significant fluctuations in their status. The study highlights that remote, service-deficient regions fail to attract highly qualified teachers despite salary increases, further deepening educational inequalities. Maintaining small schools is not merely an educational policy issue but a matter of social cohesion, as the disappearance of local institutions perpetuates disadvantages and increases the risk of segregation.
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Help professionals in schools and in local communities, with a particular focus on mental health
161-185Views:48This study was conducted as part of a larger research project aimed at gaining a detailed understanding of rural elementary schools in disadvantaged areas and their environment to formulate recommendations for their development. This paper summarizes international and Hungarian literature that presents the work and methods of professionals working in small settlements, as well as programs targeting disadvantaged children and young people living there, with a particular focus on mental health and school inclusion. The target group belongs to the most vulnerable in society, as they have to face complex problems at a very early age. With this in mind, we have divided the study into two main sections. In the first part, we emphasize the power of community cooperation in and outside of school, presenting practices on both national and international level. In the second section, we present a specific problem that strongly affects the target group, namely alcoholism and substance abuse, and its impact on children’s lives and mental health. The main conclusion of the study is that if we want to improve their living conditions, school performance, and mental health, we need complex, multi-professional cooperation and intervention as early as possible.
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Social Value Changes and Social Work Education: Examining the Student Base and Career Orientation of Social Work and Related Undergraduate Programs in Light of Social Value Changes
98-112Views:143The rapid pace of technological modernization, coupled with the economic and political impacts of the past 30 years, has significantly reshaped the value system of the domestic population. As a result, human-centred community values that have held significant dominance for centuries (e.g., solidarity, supportive relationships, community) are increasingly being overshadowed by the growing dominance of individualistic and materialistic values. The societal acceptance and expansion of an ideology that prioritizes material growth and personal interests influence the development of personality and the moral framework of value systems through social interactions. This shift thus affects the motivational orientation of career choices among the younger generation. This study examines the extent of change through comparative quantitative data analysis and proposes measures to address the declining interest in social work careers.
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Peer-group ties and a prison sentence: a chance to enhance successful re-entry
52-82Views:257Interpersonal relationships of prisoners are of key importance from the aspect of their reintegration. We focus our attention on non-kin, primarily friendship ties on a sample of young Hungarian males convicted for the first time, for a relatively short period of up to 3 years. In our longitudinal qualitative research, 80 offenders from eight penal institutions were interviewed while serving their sentence and 31 of them could also be reached 6 months after they left the prison. We analyse what significance prisoners attribute to their friendship ties, how these change during the prison sentence, which factors influence their sustainment or dissolution, weakening or strengthening.
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Family plans and career plans among higher education students in the field of social sciences based on a pilot study in Eastern Hungary
71-93Views:270Our paper explores the family and career plans of social sciences students at Hungary’s second largest university based on a questionnaire-based pilot study. Nowadays, careers include more than the traditional vertical promotion within an organisation, as seen from the emergence of the self-directed “protean” career type, which prompts organisations to adapt to individuals’ values, attitudes, and own career definitions. In addition, the Kaleidoscope Career Model sets out that individuals adapt their career goals to their life stages. Thus, students’ career and family plans matter to prospective employers. Our results show that a modern self-directed career type has emerged among students, for whom it is a priority to meet their own expectations. In several cases, starting a family is preceded by career goals. Furthermore, despite the “feminine” nature of social sciences, our pilot study shows that male students in the field still tend to conform to traditional gender roles regarding the importance of family and career. Our research implies that prospective employers need to adapt their HR strategies to young people’s family and career plans. Moreover, organisations should support students in gaining relevant work experience and in achieving their subsequent career plans.
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Mechanisms of power, victimization and autonomy in the health care system
60-80Views:189The aim of this paper is to describe power relations, doctor-patient relationships among the
many ongoing changes in health care from sociological point of view. This paper is based on
interviews with 17 people who work in various fields of health care. To conduct the interviews as
well as to write the paper, a number of concepts and theoretical approaches were resorted to:
Dominique Memmi’s ’delegated biopower’, Eve Bureau and Judith Hermann-Mesfen’s notion of
’contemporary patient’, François Dubet’s concept of institutional programme as well as results of
Hungarian health sociology. The main focuses of interest of the paper are role models in health
care, the characteristics and consequences of new doctor-patient relations, their manifestations
in Hungary as well as potentials of defencelessness and autonomy in Hungarian health care. -
The Social Ecology of Rural Schools: Family-Community-School Relationships in Cross-National Perspective
76-103Views:55Rural small schools are situated at the intersection of educational and social inequalities, where students’ learning outcomes and overall development are closely tied to the quality of relationships among families, schools, and local communities. Although extensive research has examined parental involvement and social capital, relatively few comparative studies have explored the social ecology of rural small schools-particularly the interrelations between family milieu, community embeddedness, and institutional autonomy. This study addresses this gap through a systematic review of empirical and theoretical research published between 2010 and 2024. The analysis draws on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, Coleman’s concept of social capital, and Epstein’s typology of parental involvement. Findings indicate that the family-community-school nexus exerts a multi-level and interactive influence on children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development-directly through family practices, indirectly via the quality of parent-school relationships, and structurally through local social capital and institutional resources. A cross-national comparison reveals that while rural schools are universally positioned within structures of educational disadvantage, variations in cultural norms, community organization, and policy frameworks crucially determine whether family and community resources mitigate or reinforce these inequalities. The study concludes that the success of rural small schools depends not on the quantity of resources but on the quality of relationships. Trust, reciprocity, and partnership within the family-school-community triangle are essential foundations of rural resilience. Policy interventions are most effective when they strengthen the community-based and family-centered functions of small schools, embedding parental involvement as an integral element of the learning process.
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Causes of the educational and labour market overrepresentation of women among NEET youth – Trends in Hungary’s Northern Great Plain region
32-51Views:171In the member states of the European Union, the gender distribution of the NEET generation (young people aged 15–24 or 15–29 who are not in education, employment, or training) does not follow a uniform pattern. While in Western countries men tend to be overrepresented in this group, in Eastern European member states, including Hungary, women are affected disproportionally. In this study, beyond a review of the relevant literature, we also present the results of our qualitative research from 2024 carried out in Hungary’s Northern Great Plain region (Hajdú-Bihar, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties). In this research, we examined the forms of gender inequality among NEET youth in terms of education and the labour market. Our key finding is that although men have, on average, lower levels of educational attainment and a higher rate of early school leaving than women, their long-term labour market prospects are more favourable. This is due to their greater geographic and occupational mobility, broader employment opportunities, and smaller burden of family responsibilities.
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Touristic entrepreneuring: „Szeklerland, the East of West and West of East”
206-226Views:167The present article analyses the touristic market in Covasna/Kovászna county, Transylvania, Romania. The basis of the paper are 30 semistructured deep interviews and one
focus group interview which had 6 participants who are all representatives of organisations active in the field of tourism. As the result of our research we can clearly state
that there are four different regulation levels: the level of governmental regulations,
professional organisations, cooperation and level of informal economy. Through the
presentation of these four levels we will also touch upon the issues related to professionalization, trust and quality.
