PUBLIC EDUCATION

FOCUS ON WOMEN’S FOOTBALL ACADEMIES

Abstract

Both international and Hungarian women’s football is undergoing enormous development, which justifies it being at the center of scientific research. From 2021, six state-recognized football sports academies have women’s disciplines in our country. The purpose of this research is to examine these institutions from the perspective of their public education tasks, by reviewing pedagogical programs. In addition to document analysis, we also used pedagogically related questions from a questionnaire survey for the investigation. Based on the regulations at the government decree level, three sports academies belong to category I, that is, they also maintain public education institutions, whose pedagogical programs, despite their structural homogeneity, differ in terms of scope and content. However, they agree in emphasizing general ethical standards such as team spirit, mutual respect and cooperation. Although the coordination of elite sports and learning is the priority of sports academies, they provide a supportive background for it, the existence of an adapted curriculum and the possibility of a study scholarship are among the least determining motivational factors according to the interviewed coaches, footballers and their parents, but they definitely have a positive effect. Overall, our research confirmed the importance of continuous coordination and harmony between the sports profession and the school. The examined documents provide the framework, however, the operation may differ, therefore we consider it advisable to carry out future research in order to realize the laid down principles.