Visit to Hungary

Updated on: 21/05/2012

Members of the Early Years team, Jane Beniston and Deborah Harris, recently visited Sopron, Hungary as part of a study trip. Accompanying a group of Early Childhood Education and Care students, they took the opportunity to explore a range of educational settings and experience the culture of the country.

Visiting kindergartens, a home for orphaned children and a school with special needs, the students gained some idea as to how the educational settings in Hungary compare to the provision in England.

Newman Early Childhood Education and Care students, Sarah Nock, Georgina Dallison, Lesley Fowkes and Hollie Dallison, were part of the trip:

"The visit to Hungary was an amazing experience and will never be forgotten! There were plenty of opportunities to experience the culture and new foods and we got the chance to visit early years’ settings where children spoke more than one language, including English. The experience has increased our knowledge and understanding of education in different countries. This opportunity allowed us to develop relationships with international students and tutors allowing us to consider the differences in culture and lifestyle. Hungarian students had the chance to develop their descriptive English through in depth conversation and interaction with us."

As guest lecturers, Jane and Deborah met with a group of students at the university and offered teaching sessions on a range of subjects including research, English as a second language and children's literature.

The Early Years team hope to undertake collaborative research with fellow academics at the University of West Hungary now they are back in the UK. The knowledge and skills acquired by the team from the trip will be of benefit to both Newman’s Early Years students and colleagues.