Dr. Attila Varga
senior researcher
Hungarian Institute for Educational Research and Development
Development of Learning and Integration Department
8. Dorottya u.
H-1051 Budapest
Hungary
Tel: + 36 12357249
Fax:
+36 12357242
Mobile: +36 204787000
Ministry of Education and Culture in Hungary considers environmental education as one of the main aims of education. Environmental education is a cross-curricular priority area of the National Core Curriculum. The Ministry contributes to ENSI network via its background institute: Hungarian Institute for Educational Research and Development. Main activity of ENSI in Hungary is to support the Hungarian Eco-school Network (see www.okoiskola.hu/english) The support contains of running the qualification and monitoring system of the network and professional support of the Network. The network organizes national, regional and local meetings for experience exchange and in-service training for eco-school managers in order to help to implement the principals of education for sustainable development into the daily life of the schools.
Beside the practical help of eco-school the Hungarian ENSI team supports the research and publication activities about education for sustainability and specially about the Hungarian Eco-school network. The Hungarian ENSI team was prepared the book: Albert and Varga eds: “Steps toward ecoschools” (in Hungarian) which was published by the National Institute for Public Education in 2004:
ENSI contributes to national policy development by contributing the process of planning and implementation of the Second National Development Plan – for preparation to receive the EU funding for 2007-2013, the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, and the renewed version of National Core Curriculum. The Hungarian ENSI team has a strong contact with the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO and so participates in the implementation process of UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in Hungary.
Varga, Attila; Koszo, Maria Fuz; Mayer, Michela; Sleurs, Willy
Developing Teacher Competences for Education for Sustainable Development through Reflection: The Environment and School Initiatives Approach in:
Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, v33 n2 p241-256 May 2007
This article gives an overview of ENSI approach of ESD. It presents through case studies how ESD could be based on self reflection.
Nikolett Széplaki and Attila Varga:
National reports on eco-school initiatives – Hungary in:
Mayer, M and Mogensen, F. (eds) (2005). : ECO-schools: trends and
divergencies, Austrian Federal Ministry of Education Science and Culture 2005,
Vienna, Austria pp 233-254
A detailed presentation of Hungary’s effort in ESD.
seed.schule.at/uploads/ComparativeStudy1.pdf
ENSI-SEED conference in Szeged, Hungary, 2003
All document of ENSI conference “Sustainable community and school development – Innovation of teacher education, the potential of action research and environmental education”
The website of the Hungarian Eco-school Network
General information about the Hungarian educational system