Hungary’s government has sent schools a 14-point proposal package aimed at making primary education more child-centred, including a recommendation to consider 35-minute lessons, the Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs said on Saturday.
The ‘Make Learning an Experience!’ proposal package is intended to make learning more engaging and align school routines more closely with children’s age-specific needs, according to the ministry.
The first recommendation calls for a more flexible start to the school day, with schools encouraged to provide a morning settling-in period before classes begin. This could include discussion circles, shared reading, storytelling, quiet arrival or physical activities.
Schools are advised to coordinate the morning routine with their lower-primary teaching teams and amend internal regulations where necessary.
The second proposal calls on schools to consider introducing 35-minute lessons as well as longer, combined learning blocks that allow students to engage in several different activities. The chosen approach would then be reflected in timetables, teaching allocations and annual work plans, and where necessary in schools’ educational programmes.
The recommendations also call for longer outdoor or physical-activity breaks, sufficient time for relaxed meals and, where appropriate, periods for storytelling, quiet activities or rest.
Schools are encouraged to organize comprehensive themed days or learning blocks on a monthly basis where possible, linked to curricular objectives. Suggested themes include storytelling, water, forests, gardens, libraries, museums, arts and local history.
The proposal also recommends incorporating activities at libraries, museums, natural sites, cultural institutions, local historical locations and sports facilities into schools’ annual work plans, with appropriate arrangements to ensure that they serve educational purposes and are conducted safely.
The ministry said schools should make reasonable efforts to limit the amount and burden of homework assigned to younger pupils. It also called for daily physical education to be made more engaging by giving greater emphasis to outdoor games, walking, folk dancing, hiking, skill-based activities, team games and other forms of group exercise.
The package further recommends more experiential approaches to science and mathematics. Teachers are encouraged to regularly use outdoor measurements, plant and environmental observations, simple experiments, hands-on counting exercises, movement-based mathematics and practical projects involving markets or water.
The afternoon schedule should also be reconsidered from a child-centred perspective, with daily storytelling, reading aloud and listening to stories given a greater role.
Another recommendation focuses on preventing bullying and creating a safe school environment. Schools are urged to establish clear procedures for preventing and handling bullying and to incorporate them into their internal regulations.
The proposal also calls for regular discussion circles, cooperative learning activities and shared leisure programmes, while schools should provide teachers with methodological support and opportunities for further training.
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