Initial Teacher Education in Hungary: Issues, Policies, Practices

Abstract

Initial teacher education has gone through some radical changes in the past two decades: the two-cycled, Bologna-type system was introduced in 2006, but a few years later, in 2013 it was restored to the so-called undivided system. In resonance with international trends and national processes and developments, these reforms resulted in the appearance of some new elements in teacher education such as the mentoring system or the use of portfolios, while some other existing components with longer traditions (e.g. the pillar of practice schools) have gained even more importance. This paper aims to summarize and reflect on these changes and elements of initial teacher education through a critical pair of lenses, focusing on teacher preparation for lower and upper secondary education (ISCED levels 2 and 3) by contextualizing teacher education and revealing the challenges and progressive elements.