INTRODUCTION
The history of the colleges for advanced studies (CASs) which dates back decades, can be described with the double pressure of elitism and the “promotion of folk talents” concerning their goal, operation and the recruitment of their members (cf. e.g. Papp 2006, 2008, Varga 2009, Takács 2009, Chikán 2009, Ceglédi et al. 2012b, Ceglédi 2011). During the over one hundred years history of the CASs there have been examples of elitist operation, but there is the same amount of examples regarding the reduction of social differences and disadvantages, and the ascension of the students with a low social background.
Today the role of the CASs is going through gradual changes due to the changing conditions of higher education, the transformation of the student basis of higher education, the radical shifts of the student number (raise, recoiling and then reduction), the revaluation of higher educational talent development, and the differentiation process of the mission in the institutions of higher education. In our study we raise the question, whether the CASs are the elitist institutions today, or rather they serve to equalize opportunity. This we can best measure by using the social recruitment of these colleges, in case there are reliable data. Unfortunately, it seems that there are very few empirical data about the social background1 of the students belonging to the CASs, except for researches in the Partium region, coordinated by the University of Debrecen, and there are even less surveys, in which we can get an overall picture of the indicators of origin concerning students who are and who are not members of CASs in a given student population. This is why it is hard to answer whether CASs are elitist schools or institutions that equalize chances.
The dichotomy of elitism and chance equalisation in itself is a fundamental theoretical simplification, because not only two extremes (to elevate or to rule out those who have come from the lower strata of society) prevail in the everyday life of the CASs, but there are several transitions as well. Moreover, the explicit goals regarding the recruitment basis (if they formulate such goals at all) and the implemented practice can be different too. For example we have found a college during a qualitative research among CASs in Debrecen, which bluntly turned down the promotion of students in a more disadvantageous situation and their (financial or professional) support, but still the opposite came true in practice (Bordás & Ceglédi 2011, Ceglédi & Bordás 2012).
In our analysis we do not concentrate on the formulated goals of the CASs, but we examine the implemented practice. We put the admission chances under the lense, namely by taking a look at the recruitment basis of the CAS students. Our primary question we are eager to find an answer to and which we can answer on the basis of the available data, is to what extent is the establishment of membership of CASs formed by social background and how does reproduction influence getting into university. Is the social background in itself decisive, or does it have an effect through individual performance? In our analysis we /oppose/confront the students’ individual performance
and their social origin. Although, in the case of individual performance we can also talk about the reproduction and selection processes that can be perceived behind it, we still think that it is worth /confronting its effect with the social background. At the same time, we cannot leave out of consideration that other, less measurable factors, also affect the successfulness of the higher education. Such factors can be a family milieu, the family’s cultural habits, cultural and social capital, the institutional effect of secondary school or higher education (with the relationship and social capital effects that also prevailwith, and which were analysed during the researches in the region – e.g. Fényes & Pusztai 2004, Pusztai 2010a, 2010b, 2011, Ceglédi 2010b).
We start our study with the definition of the CASs. Then, we analyse the role of these institutions in the broader context of the equal opportunity to higher education using the experiences of former researches in the CASs. In our analysis we are going to compare the students’ recruitment bases belonging and not belonging to CASs in a region (Partium) overarching the country borderlines, emphasising two important aspects: the social background and the individual performance.
WHATISACOLLEGEFORADVANCEDSTUDIES (CAS)?
The CASs are the oldest institutionalized talent development initiatives of higher education in Hungary. The first was established in 1895 under the name Eötvös Collegium, but the talent development form of the CAS became popular among a broad mass only after the establishment of László Rajk College for Advanced Studies in 1969/70, after which, more colleges were established, one after the other, starting with the early eighties. Nowadays there are more than one hundred such institutions, not only in Hungary but also in the regions of the neighbouring countries with a Hungarian population (e.g. Demeter et al. 2011, Takács 2009, Varga 2009, Pünkösti 2006, 2008, Szijártó 1991, Papp 2008, Pataki 2009, Faludi 2008).
Each CAS has its own profile, gradually chrystallising through time, formed by its members or leaders, yet still some common elements can be perceived in their operation. The CAS students form communities, where students (mainly, but not in all cases) live in a dormitory. These communities are formed as a result of professional interest or other common traits (e.g. religious scale of values, transborder origin, and artistic interest). In every case their goal is to create new possibilities for themselves beyond those offered by the university/college in the areas of study and community experiences. CASs offer the participants an opportunity to listen to lectures about topics beside or beyond the university/college curriculum (held by famous, sometimes Nobel prized researchers), to discuss topics, learn languages, take part in common free time programmes etc. Both social and community activities are productive scenes of intellectual and professional socialization. The key elements of professional get-togethers are represented by the debates, the sharing of experiences and the reinforcement of norms. (See in more details e.g. Charta 2011, Demeter et al. 2011, Fazekas & Sik 2007, Gerő et al. 2011, Bordás & Ceglédi 2011, Bordás & Ceglédi 2012, Ceglédi & Bordás 2012.)
As we can see in this introduction, the CASs are very appreciated institutions, not only due to the traditional students, but also due to the socially disadvantaged students, because all these activities and characteristics can help them compensate for the possible deficiencies in cultural and social capital. But this can only happen when the socially disadvantaged students participate in the higher education and CASs.