On the importance of the macro-social factors that can determine the quality of research

Abstract

In our paper, we will present some of the findings that we have obtained in the framework of an international research1. Although the call for papers of this conference did not exactly mention the topics we are about to introduce, we decided to present our results here since we find them rather challenging.
On one hand, it is in fact important to study the different mechanisms that can be introduced in the higher educational sector in order to assure quality in research (for example, creation of a policy of quality assurance within the institutions, or make it possible to find and follow up every single research, or introducing a protocol to be followed in terms of the documentation of the scientific researches etc). But on the other hand, it is also important to investigate into the conditions of research at the macro-sociological level, so at the level of the nation-state (in fact, such investigations could deal with the role of the supra-national agencies also, these latter having a growing influence on research activities.)
Our first research results in the last ten-fifteen years of educational research in Hungary show that the researches in the second part of the 20th century dealing with the working mechanisms of the educational system were in fact heavily influenced by some macro-sociological factors. First, one has to keep in mind that the majority of these researches were lead by publicly founded and managed research institutions, first of all by the Ministry of Education. Second, the Hungarian case also reveals the importance of the general characteristics of the ruling political regimes, for example, authoritarian functioning (like censorship and the hostility toward critical reflection) may constitute a serious barrier to social scientific research, particularly for educational research. As it will be demonstrated, this was particularly the case for Hungary in the first phase of pure communist dictatorship.
Third, research can be hindered simply by the lack of money. In this respect, one has to keep in mind that in general in Hungary and in many other countries these are the political authorities who are in the position to commission researches.
1 "žKnow and Pol" research is an Integrated Project funded by the European Commission under Priority Seven (Citizens and Governance) of the Sixth RTD Framework Programme. It deals with the relationship between knowledge and policy. For more information: www.knowandpol.eu
And of course, the presence of some or all of these barriers decreases the likeliness of commissioning (on behalf of the State) any big researches with the aim of studying a given public policy. In fact, even if Hungary became a pluralistic democracy from the end of the 1980ies on, where the liberty of opinion and human rights are respected, researches can still be hindered by institutional and financial dependence of the investigations.
In what follows we will try to outline the evolution of the institutional framework that in Hungary determined the nature of the researches on the educational system.