Our Faculty 
Predecessor Institutions
Following its foundation in 1970, the Nursery School Teachers Training Institution began operating on 15 October 1971, in the same location where the Faculty can be found now. Since it opened its gates to the first students, up until 1974 it existed as an educational institution affiliated to the Teachers Training College of Nyíregyháza. Twice in the course of history it has been completely independent. The first time was in 1974 when it was separated from the institutional structure of the College.
After this, between 1986 and 1990, as a result of the first integration process in higher education, it functioned as part of the Teachers Training College of Debrecen. Over the first decade after the political transition it could enjoy complete independence. As an institution training nursery school teachers it played a decisive role in the life of Hajdúság Region.
From 1996 to 2003 it adopted the name of István Wargha. In 2000, due to the nationwide integration process, it merged with the University of Debrecen, and was called Hajdúböszörményi College Faculty of Education of the University of Debrecen for several years.
After launching its accredited master’s degree training programme for human resource counsellors, it was assigned a new name. Since 1 January 2009 it has been called the Faculty of Child and Adult Education of the University of Debrecen.
The Early Years
In October 1971, at the beginning of the academic year, the predecessor institution of our Faculty started operations with only 90 students, 10 lecturers and 10 nursery school teachers. At this time professional work, lessons took place in the main building, or as we call it now, the ‘old hall of residence’.
The structure of the laboratory nursery schools, which are so indispensable in the training of nursery school teachers, was established in several stages. The first new building was finished as early as February of 1972, followed by a second one in 1976, while the third building provided a place for practical training in the August of 1980.
Professional Life
In the beginning, the objective of the institution was to train nursery school teachers. (There were only female students then.) Over the past decades, however, it tried to meet the social and professional challenges and demands that were influencing Hungarian higher education, primarily in the years following the political transition.
As a result, the new training programme for social educators was introduced in 1992. First it was paired with nursery school education (dual major programme), but since the second half of the decade it has been an independent training course.
Another major development was the launch of a training course for Culture Managers in 2004. Students could take the course only in a dual major programme, pairing it with Social Education. This training also proved very popular, so it is still present in our training system under a new name: Adult Education (Andragogy).
For a different reason, 2006 marks another significant change in the history of the education system of the Faculty. This is when the two-tier system (BA, MA) was introduced in Hungarian higher education.
As a result, the duration of our first-degree programmes formulated as follows: Nursery School Teacher training lasts 6 semesters, Social Education 6+1 semesters, Adult Education (Andragogy) 6 semesters.
Also, 2 additional training courses were introduced at 2 different levels: Infant and Child Care as a higher vocational training programme, and Human Resource Counselling in the Master’s level. The last one is the direct- entry training programme for Adult Education (Andragogy).
As our higher-level training courses are also very attractive and renowned, we have organised Postgraduate Specialization degree programmes in 7 counties beside our own location.
Scientific Activities, International Relations
Over its nearly four-decade history, the institution has been the venue of a number of scientific professional forums, conferences, and has published several volumes of publications.
Some of the most significant events / themes at DEGYFK
1975: 2nd Scientific Session of Nursery School Teacher Training Institutes
1985-2000: International Forums of Play (10 altogether) 1993: Congress for museum educators
1994: Mildly Disabled Children in Mainstream Education
1995: specific tasks of teaching in mixed pre-school groups
1996: Mental health conference for educators
1996: Conferences for preschool teachers and mentors
2001-present: Conference on Tale and Myth
2003: Conferences on Family Pedagogy
2008: Conference for Institutes Training Social Educators
Beside the educational and scientific activities carried out on the premises, we have always been seeking opportunities to promote professional cooperation at an international level.
We have had effective partnerships with several educational institutes with a similar training profile, for example in Germany (Gotha, Erfurt), Austria (Linz), Estonia (Tallin), Finland (Siilinjärv), Sweden (Malmö), the Netherlands (Vlissingen), Slovenia (Maribor), Croatia (Rijeka), Poland (Kraków), Slovakia (Banska Bystrica), Romania (Székelyudvarhely/Odorheiu Secuiesc), and the Ukraine (Beregovo, Mukacevo)
We have also taken part in a number of rewarding and successful international and national projects (Leonardo, Erasmus, HRD).
