• The status and prestige of teachers in different societies/different historical periods
• The historical research of corporal punishment in schooling
• Educational journals as sources to discover different viewpoints on childhood or schooling
• Metaphor analysis of certain beliefs on education
• The impact of politics on education - research on schoolbooks 

• Professional development of pedagogue occupations in Europe between the 18th and 20th

By choosing this topic, students are advised to conduct comparative research in the development processes of pedagogue occupations within the theoretical framework of professionalization theory. Critical or deprofessionalization approaches of professionalization theory are offer wide range of examination possibilities from the examination of individuals to institutions or even policy making.

• Professionalization as cultural transfer

Those students who feel impelled to choose this topic are advised to conduct research in connection with structural development of education institutions of a given nation or a region. Professionalization and cultural transfer theories enables researcher to investigate the foreign impact on education systems’ development. Moreover, these theories are also suitable for examining the transfer and receiving processes of structural development between different national education systems.

• Education institutions as places of memory (lieux de mémoire, autobiographical pact)

The Pierre Nora and Philippe Lejeune invented places of memory and autobiographical pact concepts are suitable for examining education institutions or legacy of education professionalists as distinguished objects of the culture. Places of memory helps us to unravel the peculiarities of remembrance processes and thus it can also reveal the hidden aspects of official remembrance politics or individuals’ memoires.

• Education policy of oppressive regimes 

Totalitarian regimes are apt to transform the whole society including education systems according to their ideologies. A special segment of the professionalization theory, namely the deprofessionalization approach offers a suitable theoretical background for examining the techniques of altering policy making or professional organizations in order to offer a new type of education or a new generation of pedagogue professionals, which fits with their ideological purposes.

• Accessibility and Universal Design in Education.
• Inclusive Education and Inclusive School Environments.
• Students with Special Educational Needs in Education.
• Social Diversity, Multicultural and Intercultural Education.
• The Representation of Social Diversity in Educational Documents, Curricula, and Textbooks.
• Digital Technologies in Inclusive Education.

• Artificial Intelligence in Education

The education sector faces many challenges and trends nowadays - many of these challenges and trends can be linked to digital transformation. Digital transformation can exacerbate existing and create new inequalities (digital divide), while digital technologies are ubiquitously present in our lives (mobile phones, smart homes, wearable tech etc.) and can create additional challenges regarding the abundance and trustworthiness of information (fake news, deep fake videos etc.). The education sector just started to recover from the shock of the COVID-19 induced emergency remote teaching period and now must react to the disruptive effect of the rise of artificial intelligence solutions. Aligning with the recommendations of the Beijing Consensus, this topic focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence technology to foster quality and inclusive education.

This research topic is part of a large-scale research project supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (OTKA-FK23 146998 “Pedagogically aware use and adaptation of artificial intelligence in the teaching and learning practice of higher education institutions”; 2024-2027).

Thesis topics are welcome under the umbrella of this research project (the detailed research plan can be obtained from the Principal Investigator, Dr. László Horváth), contributing to the following research questions:

• How do educational systems adapt to the challenges raised by the rapid development of artificial intelligence solutions?
• How does the (higher) education sector react to the rising development of AI tools?
• How do AI solutions get integrated into pedagogical practice in (higher) education institutions?
• How do different factors influence the successful implementation of AI tools in the teaching and learning practices of (higher) education institutions?

Professional learning and development of university teachers/teachers/student teachers

Professional learning and development of university teachers or teachers and/or student teachers can be studied and evaluated in the specific context. Teachers can learn through innovative ways like professional learning communities, co-development, action research etc.  As the research approach the student can apply case study method, comparative analysis and.

Programme design and the changing role of study programme leaders

Different approaches to programme design can be investigated, the study can focus on all phases of curriculum development from planning, needs assessment to implementation and programme evaluation. The work and identity development of study programme leaders can be explored in various higher education context as well as through comparative analysis.

Student as partners

Student as partners can become change agents in learning, teaching, assessment, development and research on teaching. Students’ and teachers’ views on students as partners approach can be studied as well as initiatives and implementations of these participatory approaches can be evaluated.

Developing and evaluating learning environments

Learning environments can be studied in various settings like schools, higher education institutions, community places, informal settings and the mixture of these. How these learning environments can be planned, implemented and evaluated? How can teachers and students transit to innovative learning environments? Assessment methods and tools for evaluating learning environments from pedagogical perspective.

Changes in beliefs about learning and teaching

Beliefs about teaching, learning, schools, children, innovation, co-creation, inclusion etc. are highly important when it comes to change, develop or innovate our education. In the thesis the beliefs of various stakeholders (students, educators, parents, leaders etc.) can be analysed and compared.

Student-centred initiatives in higher education

In the focus of this topic are education innovations and learning & teaching initiatives focused on student-centred approach. As the research approach the student can use case study method, comparative analysis.

• An empirical study of an educational organisation: the thesis is an investigation of the organisation of an educational institution (school, kindergarten) with a specific focus on organisational culture/organisational change/organisational learning/organisational resilience. The organisation under study may be a previous workplace or a placement site.
• Interactions between actors, "boundary crossing": the thesis will explore the forms, opportunities and challenges of interactions and boundary crossing between different professional actors, clients, maintainers, etc. in an educational institution. The organisation under study may be a former workplace or a placement site.
• Innovation in church schools: the study will focus on the innovation efforts of church-run school(s), using databases available in the research team and/or based on own data collection.
• Exploring factors affecting teachers’ innovative work behaviors - This topic investigates teachers’ innovative work behaviors and the factors affecting it. It involves quantitative analysis of data gained from survey of teachers’ innovative work behaviors and interviews with teachers for exploring the factors. The aim of this study is to provide insights into the teachers’ innovative work behaviors and factors affecting these behaviors.

• The role of teachers’ social-emotional competence in teacher stress - This topic delves into the relationship between social emotional competence and stress among teachers. It includes analyzing data from teacher surveys to identify correlations between these two variables. In addition, qualitative research methods are used to explore teachers' perceived social-emotional competence impacts their stress.

• Investigating teachers’ sources of support for their professional challenges - This thesis explores common challenges teachers face in their profession, types of support required for these challenges and sources of support they receive to overcome these challenges. It involves analyzing data from surveys and interview with teachers to identify the challenges, support types, and sources of support.

• Exploring Peer Mentoring Programs

1. Exploring the Influence of Remote Learning on Student Engagement and Academic Performance

This topic investigates the effects of the shift to remote learning, accelerated by global events, on student engagement, motivation, and academic outcomes. It involves quantitative analysis of student performance data, surveys or interviews with students and educators, and examination of various instructional strategies and technologies employed during remote instruction. Through comprehensive research methods, it aims to provide insights into the impact of remote learning on student learning experiences and academic achievement.

2. Investigating the Influence of Social Media on Academic Performance

This topic delves into the relationship between social media usage patterns among Generation Z students and their academic success. It involves analyzing data from student surveys and academic records to identify correlations between social media habits, study habits, and grades. Additionally, qualitative research methods are used to explore students' perceptions of how social media impacts their learning experiences and strategies for managing digital distractions effectively.

3. The Power of Storytelling: Harnessing Narrative Techniques for Effective Teaching and Learning

This thesis explores the use of storytelling as a pedagogical tool to enhance learning experiences across various subjects and age groups. It involves analyzing the cognitive and emotional impact of storytelling on student engagement, comprehension, and knowledge retention through experimental studies and classroom observations. Moreover, it examines how different narrative techniques, such as metaphor, analogy, and character development, can be effectively integrated into lesson plans to make abstract concepts more accessible and memorable for students.

• Educational philosophy and pedagogical anthropology: approaches and questions (the student might choose one particular approach of educational philosophy and/or pedagogical anthropology)
• Critical pedagogy 
• LGBT+ students in schools
• Gender and education 
• Sexuality education 

• Technology-based assessment in education.
• Developing digital competence in education.
• The assessment of AI literacy.
• Ethical and responsible AI use in education.

• Effective institutional management and academic freedom in different legal environments

It is a general requirement of the maintainers (owners) that the various educational institutions operate efficiently. It means the effectiveness of education in the case of schools and the effectiveness of education and research if we are talking about higher education institutions. It also can be the economic efficiency in both cases. Different countries choose different solutions to reach this goal. Some of them think that the key is the restriction of academic autonomy. Others are going on the way of enlarging institutional freedom. We advise the candidate to compare the Hungarian regulations with their own national regulations in the thesis.

• Discourse and content analysis in educational science
• Talent development in public and higher education
• Network analysis in pedagogy
• Educational science in modern Central Europe

• School climate, student and school well-being.
• Effectiveness, equity, and resilience in education.
• Educational opportunities and inequalities.
• School leadership.

• The Development and Promotion of Resilience and Social-Emotional Skills in Early Childhood and Primary Education.