2023 Theses Doctoral

The History of Periodicals in Hungarian Secondary Mathematics Education Between 1867 and 1956

Kozmane-Fejes, Zsuzsanna

The purpose of this study was to determine how secondary mathematics education changes in Hungary between 1867 and 1956 were reflected in journal articles of that time. In an attempt to accomplish this purpose, the researcher sought to identify which major political and socioeconomic factors affected the role and content of periodicals, how the content and approach of the topics changed, and who were the most prominent and influential authors of the periodicals between 1867 and 1956. This research investigates Journal of the National Association of Secondary School Teachers, the first periodical devoted to Hungarian secondary education published between 1868 and 1944, and Teaching of Mathematics, the first Hungarian periodical dedicated to mathematic education published between 1953 and 1956. The researcher employed historical-research methodology to examine the articles of the periodicals and categorize them based on similar content such as curriculum, teaching methods, school mathematics, and book/textbook reviews. The study also provides brief summaries of several articles.

This research has shown that the history of Hungarian education in general was often influenced by foreign and domestic politics and ideologies. Studying journal articles provides a unique opportunity to observe real-time communication between educators and administrators and to analyze the effect of social and political changes which influenced mathematics education.

Between 1867 and 1956, Hungary underwent major political and social changes—a dual Monarchy with Austria, independence as a truncated state, and occupation by Germany and later the Soviet Union. These changes significantly altered Hungary as a country and impacted its education system. While every country has undergone political and ideological influences in its educational history, Hungary was particularly affected by neighboring countries such as Germany and later the Soviet Union.

Taking the broader perspective of the evolution of periodicals, this study demonstrated that the history of periodicals as a general form of scientific communication has passed through several stages. The journals, in some respects, are a bridge between educators and were affected by the political atmosphere of the country.

In general, this study has shown that Journal of the National Association of Secondary School Teachers and Teaching of Mathematics were heavily influenced by social and political changes in Hungary, as well as foreign influences from countries such as Germany and the Soviet Union. These factors collectively formed Hungarian mathematics education between 1867 and 1956.