Study plan

The State Doctoral Examination has two parts: Dissertation Thesis Defence and an oral examination where the students knowledge and skills related to the discipline are assessed.

Scientific Board Requirements for a Dissertation Thesis Defence

- The PhD thesis proposal represents an excerpt from a dissertation which includes its most important parts, i. e. an outline of the issues covered in the dissertation and definitions of the basic terms, as well as summary of the findings and/or solutions, a description of the research methodology, presentation of preliminary results, formulation of working conclusions including a suggestion of dissertation finalization.
- The PhD thesis proposal may be written in the Czech, Slovak or English language. It must be 20 – 40 pages long, i.e. 36 000 -72 000 characters including spaces, and the sources are cited in APA citation style. The thesis proposal must be printed in 10 copies and submitted before applying for the State Doctoral Examination.


Oral Examinational Topics
- the main methodological paradigms in the field of Social Sciences
- Social Education as a science (its philosophical background, modern theories of education, its connections to other disciplines, an analysis of current social issues)
- topics and issues selected from from compulsory subjects in relation to the theme of the dissertation

The Dissertation Defence (Viva Voce) takes place after the State Doctoral Examination when the students studies are finished. It is subject to the Masaryk University Study and Examination Regulations.

PhD students are required to attend „Preparation of the Dissertation“ and „Professional Orientation in the Field“ courses each semestr during their studies.
In the course of their studies the students are also required to take part in the following activities which develop their academic skills:
1) active participation in seminars and talks included in the Phd programme curriculum (including passing exams and meeting credit requirements),
2) planning and conducting independent research and presenting its findings in a dissertation (including the thesis defence),
3) writing and publishing at least 4 papers (with the PhD student as the main author); at least one of them has to be a study published in a journal or an edited monograph listed in WOS, ISI or SCOPUS (Jimp Q3) database,
4) active participation at national conferences (twice) and conferences abroad (twice),
5) internship in a foreign research facility (or alternatively an educational facility) in the duration of 3 months,
6) teaching activities (2 – 4 lessons per week during 4 semesters, at least 150 lessons over the course of the study),
7) during their studies students also have to meet certain requirements at specific times to be able to continue; these are: presentation of a dissertation project after the second semester, presentation of a dissertation thesis proposal after the sixth semester and dissertation thesis defence after the eighth semester.

Themes / topics /areas research in Social Education:
- Social disadvantages
- Sociality
- Educationalization of special space
- Everyday knowledge
- Personal and social development
- Theatre in Education
- Diversity of the school environment
- Social inclusion, Fair and equal access to education, Meaningful leasure activities, Multicultural and Environmental education.
Social Education approaches these issues from different perspectives of various groups formed by individuals with special educational needs or with specific social needs. On general level, there are two main target groups: Children and Youth and Elderly People.
Suggested topics for Dissertations
1) An Analysis of the Knowledge of Everyday Life Studied in a Selected Target Group of Actors in the Context of the Development of Their Social Competences
2) The Evaluation of Social Patterns in Specific Target Groups in the Context of Blending of Primary and Secondary Socialization in Education
3) The Analysis of the Impact of Institutional Discourse on Education of Children from Socially Disadvantaged Areas.
4) The Application of Diverse Approaches in Drama in Education Viewed as a Tool for Social-Critical Awareness in Selected Target Groups
5) The Spiritual Dimension of Sociality in the Context of Work of a Social Education Teacher
6) The Spiritual Aspect of Sociality in the Context of the Impact the Environment Has on Every Individual
7) The Use of the Effects of Personal and Social Training in the Context of the ‘Offensive Concept’ in Social Education
8) The Analysis of the Phenomenon of the Education of Social Space in a Particular Educational Reality
9) The Implementation of Social Inclusion Measures within the Framework in which Diversity of School Environment is Perceived
10) The Evaluation of Experiential Education when Activating Specific Target Groups
11) The Evaluation of Multicultural Education in the Context of Globalised Society
12) The Analysis of the Impact of Social Education for Leisure in the Area of Prevention of Social Pathological Phenomena
13) The Analysis of the Concept of Social Education and Leisure as a Scientific Discipline in the Context of the Reflection on Dynamic Socialization Changes in a Globalised Society