Training of Adult Educators and Adult Education Research in Hungary.

Overview & Synopsis

An account of recent developments in the training of adult educators and adult education research in Hungary is presented. A review of the literature is also presented. The overall tasks of adult education are considered to be: (1) mass development of general education among adults, (2) development of specialized knowledge, (3) literary and artistic education, (4) support to and facilitation of appropriate entertainment and functional use of leisure, and (5) support of the development of socialist collective thinking. An overview of development of adult education since 1945 is presented, and university and college training programs are described. The need for closer ties between training and research is emphasized. Such research is conducted by the following institutions: Institute of Public Education, Division of Popular Education, Department of Research and Documentation, Theoretical Department, and Department of Adult Education. Conclusions are that the post-war development of adult education in Hungary was significantly influenced by the far-reaching social, political-ideological and economic changes which transformed the state and its economic structure and changed the composition of society. (CK)