Organisational variation in state-run schools

Supporting the transition: The transition between primary and secondary school is not always smooth for all students. The following alternative structures provide opportunities for those who have failed to enrol in secondary education to acquire missing basic or partial competencies in initial vocational education and training.

Orientation Year: A year of skills development for young people who are unsure about their career choices, or who have finished primary school with insufficient skills. Its task is not to replicate basic school curricula, but to develop competences based on a previous assessment of competencies. The condition of entering a vocational school is that the student must possess the basic competencies which are essential for the acquisition of the profession.

Springboard Programme is an organised developmental year of the basic competences, which aims to provide an opportunity -for 16-25- year-olds with behavioural and learning difficulties, who are lagging behind in education, or have already dropped out from the system- to find the way to a successful life path, that leads back to the world of education or work.

The School Workshop Programme enables young people who would otherwise drop out of initial vocational education and training without a qualification to obtain a partial qualification. It is also open to those who obtained a basic qualification through the Springboard programme but are unable to study in a traditional school setting. Learning in the School Workshop Programme takes place at the practical training site. Achieving the qualification takes at least half a year, but is not tied to an academic year. There are no general knowledge subjects. All knowledge is linked to the partial qualification that the student acquires from their master. Teachers support education as mentors.

Most secondary education schools in Hungary are state-run, but churches, business organisations, foundations, associations and individuals can also carry out educational activities.

The establishment of non-state schools is subject to the condition that the founders certify their authority to carry out such activities by obtaining licenses proving registration and lawful operation. The operating license is subject to the fulfilment of the prescribed financial and HR conditions and the availability of appropriate equipment, facilities and infrastructure. All of these criteria are similar in establishing publicly funded institutions.

Private schools often provide educational services in exchange for tuition fee or training contributions, but it is also possible for a private school to have an agreement to participate in public education. In this case, the private school should also offer educational services free of charge.

Schools offering instruction in foreign languages: In order to recognize the rights of ethnic minorities and to improve the knowledge of foreign languages, there are bilingual schools where all (or at least three) subjects are taught in foreign languages (English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish or Chinese).

The purpose of the nationality secondary schools is to preserve the languages and to strengthen the identity of ethnic minorities in Hungary. In such schools, education and learning is provided in the language of one of seven ethnic minorities in Hungary (such as Greek, Croatian, German, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, and Slovenian) for all or some of the subjects. The children whose mother tongue is Hungarian learn the above listed ones as foreign languages.

There are a small number of foreign schools, i.e. secondary schools and vocational training institutions, which teach in foreign languages. These schools have a different structure to Hungarian schools and operate according to a curriculum approved by the education committee of the home country. They also teach in the language of the home country and their certificates are equivalent to those issued in the home country. Their main task is to provide educational opportunities for the children of foreign workers. The goal is to enable these children to continue their studies without interruption when they return home.

Cultural community centres are multi-purpose institutions that are organisationally and professionally independent. In addition to public education, the centres also carry out cultural, artistic, community, educational or sporting activities (Act CXC of 2011 on National Public Education, § 20 (1) 5) (2011. évi CXC. Törvény a Nemzeti Köznevelésről).

Secondary schools with an alternative structure operate on the basis of a specific pedagogical concept, with a curriculum, a timetable and a specific assessment system adapted to the specific goals (talent development, disadvantage compensation, creating opportunities), for which they apply their own admission requirements.

Alternative schools provide teaching tasks using non-traditional pedagogical methods. Schools based on an alternative pedagogical concept are very diverse and have the following characteristics in common.

• Alternative schools are created, operated and run by individuals, groups, foundations, social institutions such as parents, educators, churches, etc.
• Schools often respond to local needs. Such as the local initiative to educate young people with behavioural difficulties or the “pressure” of parents. However, in some cases schools are established to test new educational programmes.
• The social composition of students is mixed, and some schools are consciously trying to do so.
• Alternative schools are mainly primary and secondary schools.
• Because they do not meet the needs of the masses, they are usually small schools. Their main attraction is the individual treatment of students and the special attention of their educators.

In addition, in practice, there are many organisational and methodological elements that can be found in alternative schools. These include:

• schools are theoretically complex, that is, they implement a pedagogical or psychological point of view, are founded by an expert, researcher, practitioner and educators organised around him/her;
• develop their own curricula or special framework curricula;
• the duration of training is different compared to traditional schools;
• versatile skills development is emphasized, to this end a wide range of activities is offered to students;
• the curriculum layout is different, it enables modular layout and project-oriented education;
• there is also a difference in the timing of the teaching, either in an epoch-based system (continuous teaching of each subject in a 3-4-week cycle) or in a rhythmic weekly sequence;
• prefers learning methods that support both individual and team work (project, cooperative learning, etc.);
• personalised written evaluations are used instead of grades to assess student performance.