A horvátországi kisebbségi magyaroktatásról: a C modell az általános iskolákban

Abstract

In the Republic of Croatia, national minorities have the right to education and upbringing in their
mother tongue. Minority education can operate under three models: A, B, and C. In the C model,
Hungarian language and culture is offered as an elective subject in Croatian-language schools.
This study presents the curricular background of the C model, its subject-specific objectives,
implementation possibilities, and the crucial role and responsibility of teachers. The aim of the
questionnaire-based research was to examine teachers’ experiences regarding the feasibility of
the objectives set out in the core curriculum that came into effect in 2020, as well as to assess
the characteristics of students, teaching materials, and lesson organization. The main topics of
the research questions were: a) characteristics of student groups and the status of the subject:
Hungarian language and culture; b) feasibility of educational and instructional goals (use of
Hungarian, understanding Hungarian texts and features of the Hungarian-speaking regions,
cultural openness, national identity, use of teaching materials and textbooks, teaching methods);
c) experiences of teaching Hungarian language and culture. The data show that student groups
consist of learners with varying levels of language proficiency, ranging from those learning
Hungarian as a foreign language to native speakers. Among the curriculum objectives, the
understanding of literary and colloquial texts proved to be the least successfully implemented.
In contrast, the strengthening and preservation of national identity proved to be well achievable.
The study examined the situation of the subject: Hungarian language and culture and its student
groups in Croatian primary schools from the teachers’ perspective. The results may contribute
to further research involving other participants in the educational process and to improving the
success of the subject and its learners.