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Lauer Learning Unveils Results of Research Study Undertaken to Determine What Hungarian Students Know About the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Research shows one in five Hungarian students do not learn about Revolution in
school and many are confused about the facts surrounding 1956
FF56! educational game may help fill knowledge gap
Roswell, GA - June 10, 2006 - Lauer Learning, a multimedia educational products company headquartered in Roswell, Georgia announced today the results of a research study administered to determine what Hungarian high school students knew about the Revolution of 1956, both before and after they were taught about it in school. The survey was developed by Andrea Lauer Rice, the CEO and founder of Lauer Learning and the Szocia-Graf Institute for Market and Public Opinion Research, located in Pecs, Hungary.
In addition to looking at the overall student interest in the Revolution, it also measured the appeal of both students and teachers in using a computer game as an educational tool to teach and learn about history in the classroom. Szocia-Graf administered the survey to 705 elementary and high school students (ages 14-17) and recent high school graduates (ages 18-20) and conducted face-to-face interviews with 41 teachers.
The survey showed that one in five Hungarian high school students do not learn about the Revolution in school. Among those who knew about 1956, the survey showed mass confusion over the particulars of the event and the key characters that were involved. When asked, the students named everyone from Louis Kossuth and Sandor Petofi, who were heroes of the 1848 Revolution, to Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin, communist leaders, as participants in the 1956 Revolution.
“We were shocked that the survey showed so little in-depth knowledge and understanding of 1956 among high school students in Hungary,” said Lauer Rice, adding that, “The good news is that students are interested in educational computer games to learn about this and other historic events. So, we are certain that FF56!, the educational computer game we are now creating about 1956, will help close this knowledge gap.”
The survey established that three out of four (76%) respondents were active computer game enthusiasts and one in two students (52%) already play computer games associate with history. The students said they would find computer games useful in learning about the 1956 Revolution.
The survey results showed that the teachers in Hungary use mostly traditional methods of teaching history and focus their lessons on final examination questions. Depending on the grade level, they only spend an average of 2 - 6 lessons on the topic, and say they are challenged by a lack of technology and time when it comes to their lesson planning. However, they are willing to use computer games and the Internet for teaching, if they are available.
“The findings make it clear that leveraging the interest and enthusiasm for computer gaming into the educational arena can help to fill the knowledge gap about important historical events,” said Lauer Rice. “It is apparent that students are not learning about the Revolution of 1956 through traditional teaching methods so educators must find a way to stimulate their interest in historical events through more innovative approaches than are currently employed in the average classroom”.
The FF'56 computer game demo, developed by Lauer Learning, is available to play online and can be found at www.freedomfighter56.com/en_ff56.html. “FF'56” will be released in the fall of 2006, in time for the 50th anniversary of the Revolution. “We invite students, teachers and other interested people to participate in the demo and send their feedback to us,” said Lauer Rice. “This is a media savvy generation. We believe that their interest in and utilization of computer technology will reinforce our revolutionary approach to teaching.”
*Top line survey results and survey sample details are attached.
Lauer Learning is a multimedia educational company that creates interactive products to teach children foreign languages, cultures and historic events through experiential learning. Two Hungarian products, the first cluster of a series of 'learning by playing' modules, will be launched in 2006 - FF56! a bilingual, historically-accurate, educational computer game for teens about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and “Kis Majom” or “Little Monkey”, a Language Learning Packet consisting of DVDs, books and flashcards, to help parents raise their toddlers bilingually. The “FF'56” computer game demo is available at www.FreedomFighter56.com and will be available in its entirely early fall 2006. In addition “56 Stories”, a collection of personal testimonials collected through the FreedomFighter56.com website, will be published and on the market in September 2006. “Kis Majom” will be available in 2007. All products will be available for purchase through the www.LauerLearning.com website.
Lauer Learning 2006 Educational Survey
Szocia-Graf Institute for Market and Public Opinion Research, Pecs, Hungary
Background
The research was conducted with a sample (405) of high school students in Hungary between the ages of 14-17 years old and a sample (300) of high school graduated youth, 18-20 years old. The respondents were 45.5% male and 54.5 % female. The sample came from both large cities including Budapest (59.7%) and smaller settlements (40.3%) in central, western and eastern parts of the country.
Interviews with 41 elementary and high school history teachers were completed in a selection of schools in Budapest, Western and Eastern Hungary. Generally, the Revolution of 1956 was taught in 1-2 lessons in primary schools and 5-6 lessons at high schools.
Noteworthy Results
- One in five students said they did not learn about the Revolution in their schools and one-third of these respondents said their knowledge and information were derived from non-school sources -- mainly parents and grandparents.
- The survey results indicated that generally there is confusion in students' minds concerning both the events of 1956 as well as all the post World War II events.
- The Russian occupation led the list of main reasons for the outbreak of the Revolution by most of the respondents, leaving life conditions and the dictatorial regime as other causes of less importance. The students chose national independence as the main goal of the revolution, while social equality and better living standards were mentioned by a smaller number of respondents.
- One in five considered Nagy Imre, the prime minister of Hungary in 1956, one of the most significant personalities in the history of the nation.
- 12% of the polled students mentioned the 1956 Revolution as one of the three most important events of the Hungarian nation, after the 1848 Revolution (20%) and the Hungarian conquest (13%).
- Students were confused about the different events of 1848, 1956 and 1990 and the key personalities involved in the events. They mentioned everyone from Kossuth and Petofi, who were heroes of the 1848 Revolution, to Stalin and Lenin, communist leaders, as participants in the 1956 Revolution
- Most of the elementary and high school history teachers polled used traditional methods of teaching history and focused their lessons primarily around final examination questions.
- A majority of the elementary and high school history teachers were open to using computer games and the Internet for teaching, if they were available.
- Three out of four (76%) student respondents were active computer game enthusiasts and one in two students (52%) already play computer games revolving around history.
- The students said they would find computer games useful in learning about 1956 Revolution as well as other historical events.
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