REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

Zoltán FARKAS: About Teaching History - 2012 469
Another problem and value crisis emerged because of the introduction of the new
module subjects because - as it was mentioned above – it was thought that they endanger
the existence of history as a school subject. The history teachers protected the subject
with formally integrating them with history and this way they gained more lessons for
history teaching. The problem with this solution is that the essential content material of
these subjects got lost. The point of the consensus between those who represented the
traditional methods and who followed the reform is that during the discussions related to
the core curriculum the interests of both sides were served and the curricula fulfilled both
the quantitative and the skill-developing requirements however they did not try to create a
balance between them and it was left to the teachers who could not solve the problem on
their own. The new history books aimed to help them but it turned out that a perfect
solution can not be expected from these books and this was the history teachers became
the prisoners of their own subject and under the pressure of the teaching material and of
the school leaving exam they had to face with further frustration.
The history books seemed to serve the interests of the society in the cross-fire of the
professional and educational policy debates and they even carried the possibility of the
professional renewal and reform. Due to the principle of free choice the accreditation
process did not make an end of the continuously published student books. They could
fulfill the requirements of the new, two-level system of the school leaving exam,
introduced in 2005. This is proved by the fact that the source-based books are widely
used; they are inductive teaching aids and handle the once misunderstood competence
problem in its proper place.
They major change regarding the reform was the introduction of the two-level school
leaving exam as in the result-based educational system this exam had a very important
role because it not only closed the process of the secondary education but it became the
basic condition and tool of the entrance examination system. Its significance is looked as
revolutionary by some methodologists (e.g. Tamás Kıfalvi) because after fifteen years of
continuous efforts for reform (evolution) it brought a powerful change, which is basically
due to the fact that the new system of the school leaving examination is a result of a
cross-governmental professional work. The other reason for this is that this new system
could combine the transmission of factual knowledge, the improvement of skills and of
the values (previously called competences). The history subject seemed to be
strengthened after the professional debates because it is possible to take a school leaving
exam at both existing levels (up to the present) and there is also a written part in the exam
in addition the oral part. (It is also important that the OKTV / National Study Competition
of Secondary Schools/ 2 still consists the history subject which also strengthened the
subject but it could only happen with the alignment with the system of the school leaving
exam.) As a result of the new style of the school leaving exam such topics like economy,
society, way of life and local history also gained ground. Lots of teaching materials,
books were published during the last seven years, the students’ books also were
transformed to fit the style of the new type of exam which can be seen as a success in
methodology but we also have to mention that there are materials which are misleading.
But in addition to the advantages mentioned so far (the new methods, contents and
skills, the higher prestige of the subject) we have to take a look at the complains referring
to the new exam, for example it is difficult to reform the exam, there is a need for
2 The transtalor’s note.