The journal 'Új Pedagógiai Szemle' belongs to University of Miskolc Professional contributor: Hungarian Pedagogical Association ISSN 1215-1807 (Printed) ISSN 1788-2400 (Online) INDEX 25701
KEYWORDS:political content; critical thinking; education for democracy; culture of debate; Complex Instruction Program (CIP)
ABSTRACT(FULL-TEXT IN HUNGARIAN!)
The aim of the research was to explore how political content appears and is processed during homeroom lessons in three secondary schools in Budapest, with particular emphasis on the development of critical thinking, communication skills, and democratic competences. The theoretical framework was built on the ethical dilemmas of teaching political content (Hess & McAvoy, 2014), the power-related role of media systems (Entman, 2007), and the social context of public education (Giroux, 2019), while also taking into account the status-equalizing impact of the Complex Instruction Program (CIP) (K. Nagy, 2016). The study involved students from grades 9 to 12 and the homeroom teachers. Data collection was conducted through structured classroom observation and the analysis of lesson plans, focusing on task openness, the diversity of perspectives, and student interactions. The findings indicate that the lesson plans aligned with the objectives of democratic education: open-ended tasks and the comparison of perspectives supported the development of argumentative skills. Teachers placed emphasis on contextualizing current political events, thereby strengthening students’ autonomy. In practice, however, the structure of debates, the quality of facilitation, and the management of status differences influenced the quality of discourse. Two hypotheses—the balanced presentation of viewpoints and the intensity of communication—were confirmed, while the acceptance of differing perspectives was only partially supported. The study highlights that politically themed lessons can contribute to strengthening democratic debate culture provided that balance, openness, and equal participation are ensured.
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