Learning Regions in Hungary - From Theories to Realities (LeaRn) research project (2012-2015)

The four year long research project (2012-2015) is led by Prof. Tamás Kozma and consists of five research groups. Each group is described briefly in the following sections.

Aim of the research: To investigate and analyze the factors (social, economic, political and cultural) which can contribute to the formation of learning regions. To analyze and compare the Hungarian regions in the aspects as possible learning communities and learning regions. To make deeper and more complex analysis of some selected regions.

Methodology: The project applying a wide range of research methods. Starting with using nationwide and regional statistics, following by narrative approach and case studies and completed with interviews and questionnaire methods.

Research Findings: After implementing the project aim with the described methodologies the project team believes to find and outline learning communities and learning regions. To do investigations inside the learning regions and to find out the relationships and networks of the learning regions.

The five research groups:

Theoretical Research Group

The role of the theoretical research group is to support the work of the other (empirical) research groups during the project activities. Giving theoretical framework and theoretical background for the empirical research is necessary in order to have a solid basis for the whole work. The work of the theoretical research group is split into three parts. The first - preparation - phase is aimed at collecting, reading and analyzing studies (theories, approaches, empirical research methods etc.) from the international research communities. During the second phase, the group helps the empirical research groups in the project to build up a coherent, consistent research plan as the main task. In the third phase to get conclusions and outcomes from the entire project work will be the assignment for the theoretical research group.

Group leader: Gábor Erdei

Research Group of Institutional Learning

The institutional learning research group examines the formal learning institutes and organizations. The research focuses on all levels of formal education, but it pays particular attention to the higher education. Some special groups of students are examined in the research such as the part-time students, the migrants, the romas and the students with disabilities.

Group leader: Ágnes Engler

Research Group of Vocational Education

The target of the team is to analyze the situation of school based and labour market based vocational education in two Hungarian small regions

(„járás”) of East-Hungary. These regions have different historical roots in education, and different labour market positions. We look for the similarities and differences between them and their backgrounds.

Method: statistical analysis and report of specialists working in the educational institutes and their responsible institutes (local governments, state educational governance institutes etc.) of the regions.

Group leader: Zoltán Györgyi

Personal Learning/Individual Learning

The working group focuses on researching personal learning, which can be defined as the dimension of informal learning and general non-formal learning. This dimension of learning is different from the systems of formal learning and of non-formal vocational training, that is to say, vocational education and training (VET).

During the research we make an attempt to examine the connections of the following four areas: general further education trainings, participation in cultural life, learning by the media, learning aspects of sport pursuits.

As part of results of the research we are planning to create an index system which is suitable for comparing the different indicators of social and economic development, personal learning as well as community learning and culture. Based on the result of our research we intend to prove that personal and community learning can be observed in all regions. This, however, can be observed more intensively in disadvantaged regions aiming to compensate the regional underdevelopment.

Group leader: Erika Juhász

Learning by Social Activities Research Group

Learning by social activities is the fourth pillar of the LeaRn project. In this fourth pillar we conduct research and studies at three levels. At the theoretical level we do not only consider earlier results of theoretical and statistical analysis, but develop our own model of learning by social activities (‘community learning’, ‘social communities’). According to the model, community learning (learning by social activities) starts with a challenge that hits the community; follows with problem-solving, and finishes with a narrative about the problem solving by the community. At the statistical level, two types of statistical data are collected: a) community based data (i.e. voting statistics of the parliamentary elections, data of blood donations), and b) data which reflects social activities in one or more regions of the country (i.e. civic movements, dissemination of various innovations). At the level of case studies, various cases are collected which would illustrate the above-mentioned model of social activities / community learning. Those case studies involve communities with immigrants (guest workers, visitors etc.); communities with establishing and re-establishing educational and other institutions; communities meeting the challenges of the political transitions and surviving it more or less successfully.

Group leader: Katalin R Forray

Territorial-Statistical Research Group

The purpose of the working group is to reveal the possible presence of learning regions based on statistical / cartographical methods. We are planning to use those indexes that were selected by the educational researchers (working groups) to create complex indexes. Then we are going to create maps in order to shed light on the regional differences of Hungarian regions. The outcome of this research is the creation of a map, which differentiate between Hungarian cities based on the population’s attitude toward learning. The research methods include literature review. We focus on national (FKP) and international (CLI, ELLI, DLA) social science research. 

Our task is to review the practices of multi-factor index creation as well as the different ways of demonstrating the methodological possibilities. 

Moreover, we are planning to gather, analyze, and cartographically depict statistical data.

Group leader: Károly Teperics

Supported by Hungarian Scientific Research Fund  (HSRF - OTKA K-101867)