Educational Change and Social Transition in Hungary

The study presents the change of the system of curriculum regulation in Hungary during the nineties with adouble focus. The presented case is put into the broader context of educational change with the aim to helpthe understanding of why and how reforms occur in education systems. It is also put into the broaderproblematic of transitions from non-democratic regimes to democracy and market economy. It analyses theimpact of the transition context on the Hungarian education reform, revealing those characteristics thatdistinguishes the Hungarian case from others. The main conclusion of the study is that social transitionfavours educational changes but it also makes outcomes fragile. Another conclusion is that the changeprocess do not necessarily follows linear patterns. If certain conditions are given (e.g. the key agents withboth coherent views and compromise making attitudes) coherent outcomes may emerge also from ratherchaotic processes.