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HUNGARIAN ECOSCHOOLS: "CIRCLE CHAIN" (KÖRLÁNC) PROGRAMME

Eszetergom, HUNGARY

The "Circle Chain" is a national environment education program with the participation of United States. It aims to educate pupils in an environment-conscious manner and to form their way of life in order to prevent or mitigate the deepening environment crisis. Within the framework of the Circle Chain Programme, the "Basic School of Vitéz János Roman Catholic Teacher Training College" of Eszetergom is a model school of environmental education. The institution, which is of the teacher training college, runs a program devised for children and is also an active propagator of the innovation. The emphasis of curricular, extracurricular and free time activities is placed on environment-awareness and the moral requirements of social life.

In accordance with its local educational programme, the school provides every teacher with training preparing them for environmental education and with conditions of creative and innovative work. The numbers of pupils is around 500. There are 41 teachers in the institution, 21 of whom are supervising teachers. Within the framework of Circle Chain Program the school has been in constant connection with the Circle's working groups from different Hungarian universities as well as with environmental experts of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The school also maintains active contacts with the local educational institutions, the industrial plants and the environmental organizations. At the school level, teachers, pupils and parents participate in different events involving social life, presentation of science, art and sport and activities related to environment-consciousness: educational walks; the cultivation of plants in the school, breeding small animals; preparation of collection, albums and souvenirs; organization and preparation of exhibitions and ceremonial presentation; selective waste collection and community programs (street-drawing competitions, spots events, fashion shows, etc.). Other activities aim at community development, the improvement of knowledge, skills and the shaping of attitudes: ski and sport camps, camps for the community development of classes, forest school (processing of the curriculum in the form of projects).

In 1980's, after a period of rapid industrialization, important environmental problems due to industrial waste and excessive air and water pollution plagued Hungary. High levels of contamination were affecting both the human and natural ecosystem, posing risk for local population. At the same time, according to the society's democratic transition, the Hungarian Educational System started a process of decentralisation in order to create a flexible school system that is capable of reacting to the people's needs. Within this environmental and social context, KÖRLÁNC, an Hungarian NGO funded in 1992 began to work in environmental education, while contributing to the modernisation of the content of local programmes and curricula in Hungarian public education.

Mr. PÉTER HAVAS
President of KÖRLÁNC (Association for Environmental Education) H-1052 Budapest, Dorottya utca 8. Hungary
Phone (36-1) 318-6531
Fax (36-1) 318-2373
E-mail : havasp@oki.hu
Web site : http://www.korlanc.ngo.hu/
http://www.oki.hu/

Institutional Partners
National Institute for Public Education Programme and Curriculum Development Center, Hungary - Körlánc

Financial Partners
ISC (Institute for Sustainable Communities-United States)

1992

The programme is evaluated by the professional head of the Circle Chain working group. The school's activities have been examined by the leaders and the fellows of ISC, the professional head of the project, and other representatives from local communities and educational bodies.