• • 
  • Dr. Gábor Ittzés
  • Associate Professor
  • ittzes.gabor@drhe.hu
  • Room:
    II/224
  • Telefonszám:
    +36 52 518553 | +36 52 518511
  • Belső mellék:
    18553 | 18511

Department of Foreign Languages

The Department of Foreign Languages ​​provides foreign language training to students of all faculties of the university by teaching English and German. As part of the undergraduate programme, the department teaches foreign languages for special pedagogical purposes for six semesters, worth 12 credits, in the teaching programme, while theological language and translation of theological texts for theology programmes, worth 12 credits.

In the teaching programme, the department offers two education programmes, worth 23 credits each. Subjects taught in the English and German education programmes are: English/German grammar, English/German writing, methodology of teaching English/German, English/German children’s literature and English/German cultural study. Students’ training focuses specially on methodological training and primary school teaching practice. Teachers who have graduated in the English/German education programme can teach in grades 1−6 of primary school. Their diploma is equivalent to a state-accredited proficiency level language exam.

The Department of Foreign Languages ​​maintains professional relations with Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Croatian, Irish, Latvian, German, Austrian, Portuguese and Romanian partner institutions, regularly sending and receiving guest lecturers and guest students.

The lecturers of the Department of Foreign Languages ​​regularly publish in their own research areas (literary and cultural studies, linguistics, methodology of English and German teaching, educational science and human anthropology, German history, press history), and carry out talent development, supporting their students in their scientific student work. The department organizes a foreign language pronunciation competition every year.

Head of Department: Dr. Csillag Andrea
Academic Staff:  Dr. Gaál-Szabó Péter, Dr. Ittzés Gábor, Dr. Eged Alice, Szirmai Erika

Department of Hungarian Language and Literature

The Department of Hungarian Language and Literature plays a role in both basic and advanced training at the University. In undergraduate training, it teaches Hungarian language teaching methodology, Hungarian grammar, children’s literature, and offers an introduction to contemporary Hungarian literature. In addition to the above pedagogical courses, it also offers courses in general and applied linguistics, literary history, literary theory, and youth literature in Hungarian.

The department’s diverse research topics include, in addition to Hungarian linguistics, the study of the effects of the Reformation on language, literature, and cultural history. Modern literature and the intermedial phenomena of modern literature (e.g. the relationship between image and text) are also researched at the department. The integration of the tools in the methodology of teaching into the ICT environment and the development of new methodological elements play a prominent role among the activities of the department.

The department cultivates many forms of talent development, from tutorial preparations of students’ scientific activities to professional teaching competitions of students. Every autumn, it organizes a storytelling competition for students, in the first semester of the academic year it conducts the home round of the Hungarian language teaching competition for students, and in April it hosts the national competition of Theaching Hungarian Language for students. In the spring term, it organizes poetry reciting competition, and spelling competitions, and organizes the celebration related to the Day of the Hungarian Culture.

The faculty of the department regularly participate in domestic and international scientific conferences and professional events; they contribute to the editing of the university yearbook and the institute’s scientific journal. They publish articles and studies regularly and extensively, and are active members of national scientific and professional organizations.

Head of Department: Dr. Vitéz Ferenc
Academic Staff:  Dr. Kenyhercz Róbert, Dr. Keczán Mariann, Lember-Major Enikő

Department of Mathematics and Information Science

The main task of the department is to teach the subjects of mathematics and information science in the basic teacher training programme. The aim of mathematics and information science training is that by fulfilling the requirements of the subjects, students will be able to teach mathematics and information science in grades 1-4 of the primary school, and after completing the specialization in the field of teaching mathematics and information science, in grades 1-6 of the primary school. They will also have adequate methods in self-progress in mathematics and information science to perform educational tasks within and outside of the class-room of the primary school, and that they will be able to develop their acquired professional skills. Students will be able to acquire new professional competencies through independent further study and/or organized further training. In addition to acquiring professional competencies in the field, a key training goal is for students to acquire the most important procedures and knowledge necessary for the use of information and communication technology in school.

The research topics of the department are: computational linguistics, with special attention to the application of hypertext (primarily in textual studies, cognitive linguistics and cognitive science), and the role of concordances in the interpretation of literary texts. We conduct research in the fields of the methodology of teaching mathematics  (e-learning, videolearning), and also in the field of analyses in statistics and data mining.

We cooperate with research centres, primarily with the Faculty of Humanities and Information Science of the University of Debrecen.

Head of Department: Dr. Boda István
Academic Staff:  Dr. T. Nagy László, Kovács Beatrix

Department of Pedagogy and Psychology

The Department of Pedagogy and Psychology considers its task to be the transmission of fundamental human values, the formation of attitudes and personality traits, and the foundation of intellectual life through the sciences it represents.

It primarily participates in training courses in the teacher training programme, but it also receives teaching tasks in the training of faith-based programmes, too. The department’s lecturers also take on significant responsibilities in the specialized further training majors of teachers, such as developmental pedagogy, drama pedagogy, teacher professional examination, etc. training.

The most important curriculum contents and subjects taught by the department: history of education, didactics, social pedagogy, introduction to psychology, developmental psychology, pedagogical psychology, social psychology, differentiated development, applied pedagogy, group training, supportive conversation, talent management, museum pedagogy, etc. The students’ preparation for classes, colloquiums, and final exams is supported by departmental publications. Furthermore, a well-equipped psychological laboratory serves to provide a practical foundation for what has been learned in theory.

The department’s major research topics include: the values ​​of Reformed teacher training, the professional socialization of teachers, art theory, art pedagogy and art advocacy, the development of emotional intelligence, the mechanism of action of drama pedagogy, fairy tale psychology, reading habits and attitudes, digital reading.

All lecturers of the department are members of either the Hungarian Psychological Society or the Hungarian Pedagogical Society. In addition, it is represented in the Association of Kindergarten and Teacher Training Schools, the Hungarian Talent Development Society, the Hungarian Drama Pedagogical Society, the Hungarian Relaxation and Symbol Therapy Association, the Hungarian Family Therapy Association, the Pro Familia Family Therapy Association, the Hungarian Reading Society, and the College of Doctors of the Hungarian Reformed Church.

The history of education competition, which is announced by the department for first-year teaching students, has a decades-long tradition. And the exhibition of student project works related to the pedagogical studies of second- and third-year students now looks back on several years of history.

The department’s scientific student association activities are also significant, with OTDK placements and awards for our lecturers indicating national recognition. The university-level talent assessment coordinated by the Scientific Student Association Council also falls within the competence of the department.

Head of Department: Dr. Kiss János
Academic Staff: Dr. Molnár-Tamus Viktória, Dr. Joó Anikó, Dr. Mohácsi Bernadett

Department of Drawing and Visual Arts

In our case, conscious artistic, creative path-finding and solution-finding are emphasized factors, while we can learn about old traditional and newer contemporary works of art and the essential issues affecting art pedagogy inherent in them and their social effects. We utilize these experiences in individual and collective, mostly practical tasks and experiments. From classical drawing and painting to creative object making, we want to raise awareness of the application of newer possibilities of applied art practice, that is already integrated into 21st century pedagogy, linked with electronic-digital techniques. On the other hand, we provide insight into the history of art with various approaches. We problematize visual communication, the interaction between everyday visual experiences and the reception of visual arts, and their dynamics. We deal with the development of children’s representation, including the practice of analysing children’s drawings.

The undergraduate education at our department is continuous over five semesters. The curriculum consists of basic drawing-painting-graphic studies in the first three semesters, and there follows the methodology of teaching drawing in the fourth and fifth semesters. At the end of the fifth semester, the basic training concludes with a colloquium, which synthesizes the theoretical and practical knowledge of the previous semesters.

The drawing cultural domain is an optional subject group, which represents a four-semester training. In addition to advanced drawing-painting studies and creativity-developing programmes, the goal is also to provide a higher-level theoretical and practical foundation for the teaching of drawing. During the semesters of the drawing cultural domain training, the participants in the training present their knowledge through colloquiums and a final exam. The diploma thus obtained qualifies them to teach the subject of drawing in grades 5 and 6 of the primary school.

Head of Department: Dr. Erdődy-József Attila
Academic Staff: Dr. Imre Sándor

Department of Natural Sciences

The subjects administered by the Department of Natural Sciences are part of both basic training and the training of students of the science cultural domain. In basic training, the department provides an introduction to basic physical and chemical phenomena, and teaches the subject of methodology of natural sciences in connection with the subject of environmental studies. The subjects of health science, ecology and the protection of nature provide the framework for knowledge related to personal hygiene and the relationship between humans and their immediate and global environment. In the training of students of the science cultural domain, in addition to basic science subjects, the subjects of natural and social geography, the history of science, the wildlife of Hungary, and environmental culture are also present. In the training of students of the cultural domain of technology, lifestyle, and household science, in addition to the history of the application of technology and energy, as well as the teaching of communication systems and methodology, the subjects of housing, household science, farming and living environment, and nutrition and lifestyle also play an important role.

The department’s faculty members conduct diverse research activities, ranging from professional methodology, history of science, philosophy of science, and eco-management to agro-social research.

The department practices many forms of talent development: it organizes teaching competitions and quizzes, and it also prepares students for participation in scientific student circles, including participation in our university’s ‘talent days’ and in national university students’ science sessions.

The department’s faculty members regularly participate in domestic and international professional conferences, participate in the editing of the institute’s scientific journal, and are members of various professional and scientific organizations through their scientific activities and publications.

Head of Department: Dr. Kmeczkó Szilárd
Academic Staff: Tótné dr. Kosztin Beáta, Juhász Magdolna Tünde

Department of Physical Education

Thanks to the introduction of everyday physical education in the primary schools in Hungary, one of the main objectives of the Department of Physical Education is to provide the highest possible level of professional training to the teacher trainees. The department achieves this goal by teaching not only the compulsory basic subjects (physical education, methodology of PE, remedial physical education, and swimming) during the basic training, but also by providing optional subjects closely aligned with the framework curriculum. Students are also provided with the possibility of training in the cultural domain of Physical Education, on completing which they can teach physical education in the 5th and 6th grades of the upper primary school. In P.E. cultural domain training students acquire competences basic sports (athletics, gymnastics, swimming) and ball games (football, volleyball, handball, basketball), and they are introduced to the anatomical and physiological knowledge necessary for the analysis and understanding of movements. In addition, there is an opportunity for students who would like to do scientific research in the field of physical education and sports (healthy lifestyle, teachers’ attitudes and other topics referring to the 7-12 year age group). In order to create high-quality professional training and education, the department is working on building domestic and international relations.

Another goal is to encourage university students to do exercises by organizing home championships and by providing other sport opportunities. An important event in the life of the department is the organization of a special evening for students in the P.E. cultural domain that ends the academic term with teacher-student matches and a joint cooking party.

Head of Department: Dr. Pinczés Tamás
Academic Staff: Szakál Zsolt, Tóth Csaba