Main Specificities of the Development of the Reform Pedagogical Movement in Hungary: Alternative Schools After 1990

The study aims to present the current reform and alternative education situation in Hungary. Hungarian reform pedagogy has a long history, and between the two world wars, the reception of European reform trends became a significant part of the pedagogical culture. The New School movement, the Child Study movement and experimental pedagogy became an integral part of Hungarian pedagogy. Reform pedagogical institutions were established mainly in the capital, the most important being Waldorf, Montessori pedagogy, the Family School, the New School, and in the countryside, the most significant were the School of Action and the Garden School (Szeged). The information sources for the study were the results of research on reform pedagogy and life reform in Hungary, studies about alternative pedagogical schools, and pedagogical websites. The outline and overview analysis cover the conceptual definitions, the historical traditions and the main features of the current situation. The research group of Eötvös University (led by Prof. András Németh), the Jena-Plan working group, has played a prominent role in researching (over 30 years) and promoting the Hungarian reform pedagogical movement.