The overall goal of the Nagykanizsa fieldwork was to learn about the methods and experiences from the Nagykanizsa Civil Kerekasztal Egyesület (Civilian Round Table Fellowship of Nagykanizsa). The organisation bases a lot of importance on social responsibility, and spreading volunteering among the youth.
The current blog sheds light on the relation of social responsibility and education.
The education dimension of social responsibility can be interpreted as follows: community goals (economic, environment protection, social, etc.) can be reached using tools which have pedagogy utility, employing an innovative, complex perspective, and through the cooperation of various sectors.
Looking from a historical perspective, each age has such activities, where education also got extra roles, f.e. students with scholarship existed since the Middle Ages, whose education was financed by wealthy commoners, nobles or leaders in the name of “social responsibility”.
Since the XIX. Century, industry tycoons thought it important to create nurseries and schools for their employees – which became more bonds between them and the factories, while also offering modern opportunities for their children’s development.
The Hungarian educational system has no clearly measurable social responsibility to date. However, donations, support of the elderly, organising events for the needy, etc. were always within the entirety of Hungarian society. The same can be said for schools.
All educators and teachers can do a lot to spread social responsibility, but this has no universally accepted structure, and the appearance in the Hungarian public education is case by case, fuelled by personal mentality.
One of the most important areas of this perspective is to “arm” students with modern knowledge, and marketable competences, meanwhile, increasing social sensitivity they have for each other.