Our aim is to create and maintain an open place where visitors can find expertise, helpfulness, and cooperation.
We would like to contribute to making Hungarian schools – at elementary, secondary, or tertiary level – into places where people's inner freedom can blossom, their self-esteem can increase, and where they can develop their skills which help them cooperate with others.
All the participants of the educational system – parents, teachers and children - can rely on our help.
Main Activities
- Professional services
- Research
- Developing teaching tools
- Help with choosing schools
- In-service teacher trainings
- Groups for parents
- Publishing books and running a bookshop
Our main activities are built on and help each other. Research findings are used in in-service trainings, our help to choose schools offers feedback about everyday school work, which can be used in in-service trainings and later in research. As we work together with schools, we have sufficient information to help others with choosing schools.
1. Professional Services
In compliance with the new Further Education Act, we offer professional services to all institutions working in the field of teacher training or in-service training.
2. Research: Research into emotional development and social competences
Our research is closely linked to further education. Students and instructors carry out research focusing on emotional learning and developing social competences. Research into emotional learning includes the development of multiple intelligences, and research into developing social competences focuses on the possible approaches to researching and developing cooperation and tolerance.
3. Developing Teaching Tools
We develop and offer teaching tools (among others, lesson plans and projects) to strengthen pupils' motivation and to support inclusive and differentiated instruction.
4. Help with Choosing Schools
We offer help to parents and pupils with choosing schools. However, if needed, our help can cover other issues related to schooling.
5. In-Service Trainings
Our in-service trainings are based on the theories and practices of several alternative educational approaches. At the same time, they prepare teachers to become open and creative in their work with future children. We consider our trainees our partners and we expect them to behave in the same way towards their students.
6. Groups for Parents
We offer case based discussions and other forms of psychological groups to parents and everyone interested. We also offer lectures on topics related to education in the family, kindergartens, and schools.
7. A Bookshop for Children, Teachers and Parents: Offering our teaching and learning tools
Our bookshop offers books for children, learning toys, books on pedagogy and psychology, literature on teaching and learning, and teaching programs and tools.
In publishing, our main focus is on international literature on education and on programs and tools developed by research institutions.
Partners and References
The Foundation maintains professional relations with the following schools:
- Gyermekek Háza
- Lauder Javne Zsidó Közösségi Iskola
- Alternatív Közgazdasági Gimnázium
- Kincskereső Iskola
- Carl Rogers Személyközpontú Iskola
- Belvárosi Tanoda
- Közgazdasági Politechnikum
- Burattino Iskola
Our trainings and in-service trainings aim at increasing the number of these schools, certainly, keeping certain quality criteria.
References
The Foundation For Free Schools runs the Alternative Teachers' Workshop, which has accomplished the following since 1990:
- 10 120-hour accredited in-service teacher trainings;
- developing a full-time teacher-training program;
- helping families with choosing schools (since 1995, 100-150 families per year);
- Hová adjam? (Where should they study?) - a leaflet for parents;
- studies on education in Budapest's first district and among specific alternative schools (to be published as Czike, Bernadett: A pedagógusszerep változása (Changing Teachers' Roles), PhD dissertation, 2004);
- Műhelytitkok (Workshop Secrets) – a volume containing the series of discussions in our workshop;
- translating, editing, adapting Spencer Kagan's book Cooperative Learning and working out an in-service training based on it;
- translating and publishing Diane Heacox' book Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom (2006);
- NFT I. 3.1 Program: participating in developing competence-based program packages (social, life and environmental competences, 2004-2007);
- NFT I. 2.1 Program: Integration Program – conducting 30-hour cooperative trainings in 72 schools in Hungary (2006-2007).
Among others, the following people have taught in or have supported our workshop in some way in the past 15 years:
Balassa Péter, Heller Ágnes, Szelényi Iván, Popper Péter, Vekerdy Tamás, Csepeli György, Donáth László, Várhegyi György, Szendrei Júlianna, Nádas Péter.