Country information for Hungary - Teacher education for inclusive education

There has been special education training in Hungary since 1900. There have been a number of changes and developments since then. In September 2006, bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in special education studies were introduced. Besides bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes, qualifications in special education can now be obtained through specialist postgraduate training courses.

Currently, programmes in special educator training are organised into eight fields:

• Intellectual and multiple disabilities
• Hearing impairment
• Visual impairment
• Speech and language therapy
• Behavioural disorders
• Physical disabilities
• Learning disabilities and difficulties
• Autism spectrum disorder.

The lack of experts and expert training in the care and education of people with autism posed a great problem. However, this was resolved by drawing up the programme completion and exit requirements for the postgraduate specialist training course entitled ‘Autism spectrum disorder pedagogy’, launched in 2009. Since the autumn of the 2012/13 academic year, full-time bachelor’s degree students can, for the first time in Europe, pursue an autism spectrum disorder pedagogy specialisation course.

Before the Bologna Process (implemented in Hungary in 2006), only one university trained special educators and one trained conductive educators, but since then the numbers have been increasing. As of September 2020, nine universities train special educators and, in addition to special educator training, the Pető András Faculty at Semmelweis University offers conductive education training. Conductive educators specialise in physical disabilities caused by central nervous system injury at either kindergarten or school age.

In-service training includes inclusive education skills, but it is usually optional. For other professionals, there are vocational workshops.

Last updated 25/03/2021