Introduction

The Hungarian Pedagogical Association (HPA)

  • It is the oldest and largest Hungarian non-governmental, professional, multi-disciplinary association for all-age-education and education-centred professionals as well as semi-professionals.
  • The HPA is the voluntary, autonomous and professional unification of education specialists and supporters.
  • It was founded with enthusiasm together with the rise of the modern education in the end of the 19th century (in 1892); the HPS was dissolved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1950 during the communist years. The legal successor was born 12st April 1967. The current structure of the Society was reorganized with the fall of the communist system in Hungary in 1989/90.
  • The Society currently has around 1800 of members from all segments of education and has around 40 different thematic and geographical divisions such as prevention, career education, early-childhood development, leisure-time pedagogy, STEM pedagogy, and so on.
  • Each thematic or geographical division has its own professional leadership and membership and all activities are voluntary-based.
  • The HPA office is in the heart of Budapest, in the 7th district, Budapest, Kazinczy u. 23-27, 1075

The Mission Statement of HPA is the following;

  • HPA maintains and develops the European idea of lifelong learning in Hungary and across Europe
  • it serves actively the development of educational theory and practice,
  • safeguards the interests and the progressive features of traditional Hungarian education,
  • and also improves the social recognition of education’s outstanding role.

The tasks of the Association

  • HPA organizes conferences, lectures, meetings, exhibitions as well as summer camps (such as the ‘Generations Camp’)
  • HPA also maintains its own professional website (https://pedagogiai-tarsasag.hu/) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/246553428812891/) with more than 2000 followers from Hungary and from the Carpathian Basin.
  • The HPA is regularly takes initiative in assembling Congresses on Public Education and is the founder of the periodical called Kisgyermek (Infant) (www.kisgyermek.hu) which is the follower of the traditional Hungarian pedagogy. HPA also delegates a member to the Editing Board of the Hungarian New Pedagogical Review (Új Pedagógiai Szemle, http://upszonline.hu/)
  • HPA active at the European and other international fields; eg. in the Visegrád Group cooperation. The Association is the member of the Organization of International Comparative Education, of the European Parents Association (EPA), of the International Makarenko Committee and of the International Korczak Committee.
  • Several Hungarian higher education institutions support the work of the HPA, including those universities are involved in teachers’ training of CPD.

Organization, membership and management

The main body of the Association is the General Assembly; it elects the Voluntary Board for 4 year terms. The HPA is headed by a 9-member Voluntary Board the secondary decision making body of HPA is the meeting of the heads of the divisions/ sections.

Contact details

e-mail to the HPS: mptiroda@gmail.com
location and address: https://goo.gl/maps/ydFq2ihyP4v