Lower Secondary School Teacher Training in Civics

The basic objective of the Master's programme is to prepare primary and lower secondary school teachers in civic education (in a combination of two subjects) as part of the educational area People and Society as defined in the Framework Educational Programme for Elementary Education. The programme provides students with integrated knowledge and skills based on the field of civic education and its didactics, pedagogical and psychological disciplines with the support of current research findings, the skill of reflection on the teaching process at the appropriate types and levels of education, the skill of self-reflection in the teacher's role and the acceptance of moral obligations and the ethics of a teacher. The aim of the programme is to prepare graduates for the profession of teachers of civic education in primary and lower secondary schools, to develop professional skills and gain knowledge from the social sciences which they can then use in their teaching. Another important goal is to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary for their civic participation in a democratic society. Graduates are given a full university education to become civics teachers for primary and lower secondary schools. Moreover, they are qualified to work in extracurricular (e.g. free-time) institutions. They are ready to base their professional conduct on well-structured knowledge and skills from the social sciences. The effectiveness of their professional conduct is subject to their acquired didactic knowledge of content related to the teaching of civics in primary and lower secondary schools and their general pedagogical and psychological knowledge and skills (knowledge of a broader foundation of education and training, knowledge of educational practice, knowledge about the participants in education, etc.).

Through studying for the Master’s degree graduates gain the necessary competences that allow them to critically apply the use of their pedagogical and psychological knowledge in practice as a teacher at a primary or secondary school. Graduates are fully qualified to pursue the profession of a teacher. They are ready to base their professional conduct on well-structured knowledge and skills from their fields of approbation (content knowledge). The effectiveness of their professional conduct is conditioned by their subject-didactic (pedagogical content knowledge) and broader pedagogical and psychological knowledge and skills (knowledge of the broader background of education, knowledge of educational practices, knowledge about people involved in education, etc.).

They develop communication skills important for communication and collaboration with pupils/clients, colleagues in the workplace, with parents of pupils/clients and with practitioners. An important benefit of the degree is the development of self-reflective skills that provide space for the development of attitudes towards one another, to educated individuals and to the profession: perception of the responsibility of the teaching profession, the acceptance of the moral obligations of a helping profession and its ethics.

The studies emphasise the principle of interdisciplinarity (interconnection of some pedagogical and psychological subjects) and the principle of sequence and gradation of themes and courses, from the more general to the more specific. An important part of the concept is the reflective teaching practice. The principles of reflection on teaching practice and self-reflection are related both to practice and to other experience-oriented subjects. An important part of the concept is also the promotion of inclusion, which is perceived as a cross-curricular theme (also supported by a separate course).

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• plan lessons, use combinations of various methods and forms of teaching
• apply gained knowledge and skills to teaching civics at primary and lower secondary schools
• understand, interpret and critically evaluate social science texts
• include modern approaches (project teaching, problem teaching)
• create a general image of society and understand a person's role within society (from both the historical and the current point of view) based on the knowledge gained in the fields of social sciences
• plan, implement and reflect on their own teaching at the appropriate level of established professional competences;
• use basic professional terminology and information sources of pedagogical and school psychology in describing, analysing, interpreting and evaluating typical teaching situations, as well as describing the educational environment of the school
• use basic methods and tools of pedagogical diagnostics in teaching and gain data which is available for the support of an individual pupil/client. The results can be communicated appropriately to pupils, teachers, and possibly parents
• to explain and to reflect on the principles of inclusive education at the level of culture, politics and practice of the school in their educational activities;
• describe and individually explain specific learning processes with a specific example from their portfolio;
• to reflect on the experience of their own teaching practice in the professional community and to use reflection and self-reflection as a tool of professional learning: to critically evaluate their own attitudes towards education

A teacher of civics education for primary and lower secondary schools, an instructor in free-time centres, a professional employee in state administrative structures, NGOs and in the private sector specialized in cooperation with the institutions of the European Union.

• Teacher of the second level of primary school

The teaching practice is conceived as a coherent and gradated system with an emphasis on interconnection with theory and reflection and self-reflection of the student as a teacher.

The aim of the teaching practice is to acquire the professional competences necessary in the daily work of the teacher, to become acquainted with the roles which the teacher enters into in their work, to realize their own professional needs and to gradually take responsibility for the planning, implementation and evaluation of lessons. Throughout the teaching practice, students get a real idea of what a teacher's everyday work involves.

The teaching practice forms a coherent system of consecutive subjects. In the follow-up master's programmes, these are the subjects Teaching Practice 1 (1st semester), Teaching Practice 2 (2nd semester) and Teaching Practice 3 (3rd semester). In total, this makes up 280 hours (double-subject programme), followed by Seminar on Teaching Practice. Students enrol in the Seminar on Teaching Practice 1 twice during their studies (in the first and second semesters). The aim of the reflection is to provide students with a space for sharing and reflecting on experiences from their own teaching practice and helping them to deepen their reflective and self-reflective skills.

The system of teaching practice is regularly evaluated both through open and closed questions, both by students and the mentor teachers. The reflective seminars are also evaluated.

The final work of the student demonstrates the ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the course of study in working on a specific professional-pedagogical problem. The type of final thesis corresponds to the content and level of the given degree of study. The student chooses from the following types of works: a) theoretical-applied, b) theoretical-empirical (research), c) theoretical. The types of work and recommendations for their implementation are further guided by the APA manual. The length of the final thesis ranges from 117,000 to 200,000 characters, including gaps, i.e. 65-80 standard pages.

The standards for the implementation of the final theses at different departments are in accordance with the Dean's Instructions No. 1/2015 on implementation of the final work (Bachelor's, Master’s, post-graduate non-PhD and final works for Life-long Education) in the version effective from 1.11.2015.

The thesis follows the following goals based on the profile of the graduate of the Faculty of Education of MU. Students:

demonstrate an awareness of the current issues of their field of study, they can clearly and comprehensibly define the topic of the final thesis and its objectives, describe the initial state of knowledge and propose appropriate methods of achieving their stated goals;

work with appropriate primary and secondary sources of information, cite them according to a valid standard (APA) and in accordance with the ethics of academic work ;

through the creation of their own text they demonstrate stylistic competence, and the ability to create an academic text;

demonstrate the ability to ask questions and solve problems, to formulate new ideas and conclusions that bring at least some new knowledge about the phenomenon being studied, or enrich the methodological (in the area of research) or methodical (in the area of education) procedures in relation to clearly defined target groups (pupils at primary and secondary school, groups with specific educational needs, etc.).

One year programme of social sciences for secondary schools.

Postgraduate studies in pedagogy (Ph.D.)