Nincs absztrakt.

The study discusses Hungary’s shift in foreign policy toward the Third World from the 1960s onward, emphasizing the broadening of political contacts to encompass cultural and economic cooperation with the Global South. While these relations have traditionally been viewed as secondary to those with the Global North, recent scholarship suggests that they were part of a deliberate effort by socialist countries to develop an alternative form of globalization, distinct from Western practices. The Libyan Housing Project, initiated by Hungary’s socialist construction industry, serves as a case study to examine Hungary’s relationship with the Arabworld. This project, which ultimately failed and resulted in severe financial losses for Hungary, offers insights into the practicalities and perceptions of cooperation between Hungary and Arab nations. The study incorporates internal expert reports, records of government meetings, and other sources to examine the motivations, operations, and eventual complications of engagement with Third World countries. The analysis highlights the stark contrast between the rigid, centrally planned economic practices of Hungarian firms set against a capitalist environment, as well as the Hungarian government’s changing stance toward Libya and the broader implications of viewing socialist countries as proactive participants in globalization rather than mere recipients.

Statistics are never innocent. Although many studies have shown that statistical sources are as much in need of critical reading as politicians’ statements, social statistics still shine with the light of reliability. Many people believe that if the figures are not directly falsified or denied, they are essentially credible and accurate descriptions of the society under study. However, a more thorough analysis should leave no doubt that, on the one hand, the concepts of statistical data collection fundamentally determine and limit the picture of the society they may yield, and, on the other hand, these concepts are closely linked to both the agenda of the government that commissions statistical surveys and to the expectations and needs of various social groups. Therefore, in my study, I will examine how and to what extent their content is determined by the circumstances of the formation of statistical sources and the environment surrounding them. Who was statistical data collection addressed to and what was its function in socialist Hungary? Who did the Central Statistical Office (KSH) answer to and what did it want to know? What expectations and constraints did the Hungarian state impose on its statisticians after 1945?

Nincs absztrakt.

The study analyses the professionalization of Hungarian secondary teachers with a methodology based on Hannes Siegrist’s professionalization terminology of ideal types. In contrast to the classic (Anglophone) theories of professionalization, this approach attributes an important role to the state in the Hungarian professionalization process. Furthermore, it does not view this process as unidirectional: previously attained positions and prerogatives could be forfeited any time. Consequently, the main question is not whether teaching at secondary school was considered a vocation. Instead, Keller asks if any signs of professionalization can be detected in the history of Hungarian secondary education and what these signs were. The study concentrates on four themes. First, how did teacher training evolve, how was it regulated, and, as a result, how did the specialised knowledge required for secondary education develop as a result? Second, how did the teachers build their professional ethics and maintain their importance within society? Third, in what ways did the teachers strive to defend their professional autonomy and create a monopoly? Finally, how did professionalization aff ect the economic and social position of secondary teachers? The analysis of the history of secondary education from these angles demonstrates that the process of professionalization is clearly perceptible in the case of Hungary. There has evolved a centrally regulated training and qualification system that was essentially compulsory for all candidates wishing to pursue this career, and this training also includes pedagogy, the specialised discipline of teaching. A study of the journal published by the National Association of Secondary Education (later, of Secondary School Teachers) reveals that professional ethics and the image of the ‘ideal teacher’ was fully formed by the last decades of the nineteenth century. Th e main purpose of these was the justifi cation of the importance of the work of teachers in society. The existence of professional autonomy, as well as the measures taken to protect it, proves that secondary education was on the way to full professionalization in this period. At the same time, the continuous amelioration of the social and economic position of secondary school teachers suggests that the consequences of the aforementioned professionalization processes are also refl ected in their rising social prestige. As compared with the contemporaneous German situation, the professionalization of Hungarian secondary teachers is markedly associated with a characteristic importance of churches and church endowments. On one hand the presence of religion in the process hindered professionalization, as it decelerated the separation of teaching from clerical and ministerial roles and impeded the development of comprehensive teacher training and qualification. On the other hand, the presence of churches that were independent of the state and had vested interest in the education system increased the professional autonomy of teachers: the aims of these two power structures mutually inhibited one another and secondary school teachers became the primary benefi ciaries of this struggle.

Nincs absztrakt.

Nincs absztrakt.

This paper addresses questions of Hungary's 19. century modernization through the comparative study of Hungarian and Prussian secondary school teachers' professionalization and their relationship with the state. Was it a specifically Hungarian route to modernization or is it merely a belated imitation of Western patterns that sources reveal? Based on the comparison it can be argued that although the professionalization of the Hungarian secondary school teachers started later than that of the Prussians, it yielded results earlier in terms of autonomy, expert status and society organization. We suggest that it is due to a closer at the same time more critical relationship with the state, that is, to the different conceptualization of the state from the one of the Prussian teachers. What explains this more equal relationship and the different direction of development that it gave rise to? Our analysis distinguishes four factors. The first is the favourable politics towards societies of the liberal era that followed the Settlement and lasted until the mid 1870s. In such an environment it was much easier for a professional-advocacy group to function and achieve results than in Prussia, where the government was much less open towards societies. The second factor is the different role of the church in education. In Hungary primary education entirely, while secondary education to a large extent was controlled by the protestant and the catholic church(es). In that context the liberal Hungarian government was content with the establishment of an independent new "power" centre of education policy that declared itself to be beyond religious affiliations. In Prussia churches had lost their decisive role long before, so the government did not need a professional pressure group to get its educational policy initiatives through. In this light it becomes understandable that the two societies had different opportunities. The third factor is constituted by the personal connections between the government – and its representatives – and the two societies. In Hungary, after 1849 the protestant as well as the catholic secondary schools played an eminent role in the fight against Germanization. In addition, a number of officers of the teachers' society actively participated in the revolution and in the war of independence, hence had good and personal connections with the new elite that come to power after the Settlement. Such personal and good connections and attachments – facilitating advocacy – cannot be observed between the teachers of the Prussian cantonal society and the Prussian government. Finally, the united stand of the Hungarian teachers contributed to the better possibilities of advocacy of the National Secondary School Teachers Society. The clear opposition between fields of arts and humanities and sciences characteristic in Prussia cannot be observed with regard to Hungary in the period under study. Our study clearly demonstrates that despite recognizable similarities, significant differences exist between the two countries under study both in terms of conditions of teachers' professionalization, both in terms of results achieved by them. Therefore, it is argued (taking into consideration the limits imposed by the scope the study) that the Hungarian modernization of the 19th century cannot be simply described by notions of belatedness and backwardness, even if its normative content is ignored.

Nincs absztrakt.

Nincs absztrakt.

The essay is connected to the research currently under way in the Sociological Institute of ELTE, about elites and it is an analysis of the staff of a Catholic and a Calvinist elite high school, between the two World Wars. It gives us the social background, the career, the social role of the teachers. It also shows us the wider picture of the teachers’ social status in the given period, in the light of statistics. The second part of the essay the researcher attempts to give an answer to the question: Why these high schools were called elite? The essay puts an emphasis on the role of religious schools in the society of that time.