Teacher Preparation in Hungary: Exploring possible implications of research and reframing challenges from the US context

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
While research has shown that a high number of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years of their career in different countries across the globe (Gallant & Riley, 2014), Hungary has been reported to be one of those European countries most severely hit by teaching shortages, with more than half of its lower-secondary teachers retiring in the next 15 years, and at the same time facing serious teacher turnover and initial teacher education student shortages (European Commission, EACEA, 2021). Pre-service teacher education in Hungary is currently being restructured (Hungarian Government, 2021), so time has come to reflect on different components of teacher training and the practices of those involved in it. Expectations of initial teacher education programs arise from 21st century expectations of teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2006), a shift towards the development of learners in competence areas (European Commission, 2018), as well as the conclusions of teacher education research shedding light on the effects of teacher preparation programs on teachers’ future practices and overall career (cf. Faez & Valeo, 2012; Farrell, 2009). After summarizing relevant contemporary challenges and dilemmas of preparing new teachers in Hungary, the presentation will discuss implications of a study conducted about Hungarian English as a foreign language teacher candidates’ preparation, and then will use emerging themes of interviews with university teacher educators in the United States to reexamine those challenges, dilemmas and implications.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Katalin Hubai works for Eotvos Lorand University, teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and mentoring student-teachers at the university’s on-site secondary school. She is also a part-time lecturer at the Department of English Language Pedagogy, where she trains future EFL teachers. Ms. Hubai earned her master’s degrees from Eotvos Lorand University in English and Hungarian language and literature. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree from her alma mater in language pedagogy and English applied linguistics, doing research on preparing future teachers for developing key competences for lifelong learning in the EFL classroom. After participating in the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange in California in 2012/2013, Ms. Hubai is back in the United States for the 2023/2024 academic year as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.