In Hungary, public education suffers from underfunding, and municipalities maintaining kindergartens face continuous resource withdrawals. Working conditions for teachers are deteriorating, their salaries are losing value, and legislation often sidelines pedagogical autonomy and professionalism. These trends have resulted in a severe teacher shortage; the proportion of retired teachers rises every year, while young people do not stay in the profession for long.
The Hungarian Association of Kindergarten Teachers aimed to stir the profession, reach as many places as possible, organize discussions and forums, and map out the real situation in public and kindergarten education.
According to Andrea Bocsiné Percze, a participant from Eger, the "Mondd el Te is" (Tell us too) events allowed colleagues to honestly share the problems and daily challenges they encounter in their educational work—issues for which it is vital to find answers and solutions. They experienced that colleagues from different settlements face essentially similar struggles. They also expressed a great need for such professional dialogues in the future, as they are currently very rare.
The association paid special attention to the education of children aged 3–7 living in disadvantaged regions. Their primary task was for the association’s regional circles in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Heves, Nógrád, Csongrád, Pest, Tolna, and Baranya counties to invite local institutions to professional discussions. This allowed leaders and staff to speak about the reality on the ground. Their findings were summarized at two national conferences in Miskolc and Budapest. These professional meetings were so successful that the association significantly increased its membership, new regional circles were formed, and the number of supporters grew.
Kindergarten director Márta Győri observes that it is a general experience that "the number of children with special educational needs (SEN) or significantly deviant behavior is high and increasing year by year, requiring specialized professionals for their development. Since this condition is not met everywhere, we, as kindergarten teachers, must acquire the theoretical and methodological knowledge to somewhat fill this gap." Therefore:
The association produced a free professional publication for kindergarten teachers and pedagogical assistants, enabling them to practice developmental tasks with children preparing for school—even in highly problematic regions where adequate special education services are unavailable.
The association’s work has also taken a new direction recently: they observed that expert examinations often occur too late (or not at all) before children start school at the mandatory age of 6. This makes it impossible to track children's development or, if necessary, keep them in kindergarten for an extra year. This has led to a significant increase in the number of children repeating the first grade. To address this, they launched a new initiative, also supported by the Common Values Program: "Kis lépés, több esély – út az iskoláig" (Small step, more chance – the road to school) aims to draw attention to systemic problems hindering successful school starts. A complete renewal, modernization, and development of the public education system is inevitable—for the sake of the children.
The Hungarian Association of Kindergarten Education is a professional advocacy organization founded in 1990. Previously, they carried out diverse and multifaceted activities with programs in Hungary and abroad; they were members of, among others, the OMEP World Organization for Early Childhood Education, participated in its international conferences and study tours, and invited them for visits to Hungary as well. Together with the Kecskemét Teacher Training College, they organized the Kindergarten Pedagogy Summer University, and later, with the Department of Pedagogy at the University of Debrecen, the Kindergarten Pedagogy Summer Academy. The association’s local organizations organized county, city, and sub-regional professional forums, discussions, and further training. In the past decade, there was no longer the possibility to continue international relations, and the organization of programs and conferences encountered serious financial difficulties.
