In the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years, the Bálványos Institute, in cooperation with the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, conducted a research to explore the political perception, political culture and political socialisation of young Hungarians in Transylvania. To this end, we conducted a representative questionnaire survey among 11th and 12th graders in eight cities in Transylvania. These cities were: Miercurea Ciuc, Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureș, Oradea, Sfântu Gheorghe, Satu Mare, Odorheiu Secuiesc and Timișoara. We felt it was important to target this group because they are the young people who are on the border of adulthood, and, for example, by the time of the forthcoming parliamentary elections, most of them will be 18 having the chance to vote, and as they reach adulthood, they will have the opportunity to get involved in more and more activities.
Data collection and methodology The research was conducted through questionnaire survey, representative for Hungarian 11th and 12th grade students in the eight cities. The period of data collection:- Sfântu Gheorghe, Odorheiu Secuiesc: 18 April 2019 – 17 May 2019 (academic year 2018/2019);
- Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Târgu Mureș, Satu Mare, Timișoara, Miercurea Ciuc: 16 September 2019 – 20 December 2019 (academic year 2019/2020).
The target population were Hungarian students in grades 11 and 12 studying in theoretical, vocational/technical or professional school classes. Using multistage random sampling, classes were considered as the basic unit, and for the sampled classes, all students present at the time of the survey completed the questionnaire. 121 classes were surveyed, including 48 theoretical, 25 vocational, 30 technical and 18 professional school classes. In total, 2521 students completed the questionnaire.
The questionnaire included the following issues: perception of politics, information, perception of democracy, assessment of the current situation in Romania, ideal citizenship, active participation, willingness to vote, interethnic relations.
Download the full text of the report from HERE.