Today's professional teacher training system includes both professional and pedagogical preparation, the main aim of this training being to further develop the methodological part of the teacher training. In the last three decades, the institutional system and the content of Hungarian VET have been characterised by constant change, significantly influenced by the series of decisions and recommendations on VET in the EU. While continuous structural and content change has updated the VET infrastructure, and modern curricula have been developed, this modernisation has been accompanied by only modest digital and methodological changes. While all the development programmes implemented have made efforts to improve the methodological knowledge of vocational teachers, the results have been less visible in practice. Research on teaching methods and the methodological culture of professional teachers in vocational subjects has been scarcely reported in the professional press. At the same time, the learning environment has changed dramatically over the last decade, and the need for digital education has significantly altered the expectations of teachers in terms of teaching methods. The digital transformation of education is not a digitally-enhanced version of traditional teaching methods, but a new learning environment in terms of approach, requirements, methodology and assessment systems. In our study we want to present an empirical research and its results, as well as new directions for development, which aimed at partially overcoming this methodological gap at the University of Dunaújváros, In this context, we describe in detail the study that was carried out by means of a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews among engineering and vocational students of the institution in 2014 and 2024.

The basic aim of the research presented in this paper was a complex evaluation of a practical space exercise supported by virtual tools, with a special focus on the role of VR technology and the software used. The research also examined technological and methodological aspects such as the effectiveness of VR lab exercises, the quality of online learning materials and software, and the role of instructors. The methodology of our research was based on attitudinal analysis and descriptive statistical analysis, an important part of which was an evaluation of the VR software used, which not only characterises the current situation but also determines future development directions. As a result of our research, we can conclude that VR technology, especially 3D visualisation and interactive exercises, have proven to be particularly important in the learning process, but the future of VT technology in education is still perceived by students as somewhat uncertain due to infrastructural and resource constraints. Furthermore, our research results show that there is a need to improve the IT infrastructure and further optimize VR software, as well as a need for future research on resource allocation and technology integration beyond the pedagogical effectiveness of VR technology.