Change, continuity and path-dependency in Hungarian public education

Abstract

In this descriptive study the aim is to analyze the Hungarian educational policy history and event-chain of the comprehensive and post-comprehensive project. As a structuring framework this paper used the historical landmarks and the different institutional arrangement models (governance types and power distribution models). Accordingly, three landmarks and policy cycles have been identified, which are connected to political and social turns in Hungary. The first is the period of massive centralization and egalitarianism from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s. The second period has to be counted from the acceleration of educational transformations, the political turn and transition times from the mid-1980s till 2010, whilst the third cycle is formed by recent policy developments. This paper’s overarching aim is to give an overview on the political, social and economic contexts of educational policies, and the key actors of comprehensive common school and policy impact. The term ‘comprehensive school’ is addressed in terms of its structural–curricular, political and cultural meanings. Accordingly, an analytical framework was developed, which is a combination of political (interest-groups/actor-centrism), cultural (ideological/interpretive framework) and structural-functionalist (social demand, ecology of the schools) explanations.