Author(s): Dóra Katalin NÉMETH

Title: INTERSECTIONS OF POLITICAL NORMS AND PEDAGOGICAL GOALS: THE IDEOLOGICAL FRAMING OF KINDERGARTEN TEACHER TRAINING IN SOCIALIST HUNGARY

Source: P. Baka, D. Borbélyová, A. Csehiová, K. Józsa, K. Kéri, B. Kiss, O. Magirovskaya, Y. Orsovics, B. Pukánszky, Sz. Simon, P. Šenkár, A. Tóth-Bakos, A. Tóthné Litovkina, A. Varga (eds.): 17th International Scientific Conference of J. Selye University. Sessions of the Faculty of Education. Conference Proceedings

ISBN: 978-80-8122-539-0

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36007/5390.2026.369

Publisher: J. Selye University, Komárno, Slovakia

PY, pages: 2025, 369-380

Published on-line: 2026

Language: en

Abstract: Teacher training in socialist Hungary not only fulfilled professional but also political and ideological functions. The training of preschool teachers in the 1960s was a particularly sensitive area, as the party-state regarded educators involved in early childhood education as key ideological agents. In my presentation, I explore how the educational policy directives and political expectations of the period shaped the content, structure, and value system of preschool teacher education. My research is based on archival sources, ministerial decrees, curriculum documents, contemporary press coverage, and personal recollections. I analyse how elements of Marxist-Leninist ideology were integrated into course materials, the evaluation of pedagogical practices, and efforts to stimulate students' political engagement. I also examine the role of various mass movements (e.g., the Hungarian Young Communist League – KISZ, the Hungarian People's Army – MHSZ) in the everyday life of teacher training institutions and how these influenced the development of students’ professional identity. The analysis highlights that both professional and political considerations were present—often in competition or mutual reinforcement—within the institutions of preschool teacher training. Ideological expectations of the era affected pedagogical practice not only at a declarative level but also in everyday routines: the demand for ideological loyalty frequently outweighed professional competence. Nevertheless, students employed various strategies to navigate the tension between political conformity and personal beliefs. The aim of my study is to demonstrate how preschool teacher education became one of the institutionalized arenas of political socialization and to reveal how this process entangled notions of femininity, care work, and the ideological constructions of the era.

Keywords: kindergarten teacher training, socialist educational policy, ideological education, teacher role, political socialization, 1960s

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