Secondary School Teacher Training in Music

The basic aim of education in the field of Music Education for primary and secondary schools is to prepare a fully qualified teacher with solid knowledge and skills in the field of music education and its didactics. The content of the follow-up Master's degree is the synthesis of the acquired professional knowledge with the field of didactics of music education. Professional didactics is represented by subjects Didactics for Elementary School 1 and 2 and Didactics for Secondary Schools 1 and 2 and is supported by Didactic Practices. Both subjects emphasize the difference between both types of schools. An important moment is the blending of aesthetic and musical science disciplines with other forms of art. The knowledge, skills and attitudes gained during studies are the basis for a fully competent profession of a teacher of music education at elementary or secondary school. These competencies also give full qualification for instructor work in leisure centers, in training centers, 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.).

The degree develops students’ analytical and comparative skills, which enable them to understand the diverse pedagogical reality and to use subject-specific, pedagogical, and psychological publications in their work for planning, implementing and reflecting on educational activities. 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. The concept is also characterized by the interdependence of theory and practice. 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:

• exercise the profession of music teacher in primary and secondary schools competently
• base his/her professional conduct on a well strucured base of knowledge and skills in the field of music education
• develop professional knowledge and skills based on an interdisciplinary perspective of related disciplines
• develop basic attitudes and values in general and musical aesthetics in an effort to form the value orientation of young people
• reflexively and critically think and act as a professionalist in music education.
• didactically transform the educational content of music education into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools.
• 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 where
• 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 and other pro
• 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 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;

The graduates are fully qualified to work as music teachers in primary and secondary schools and at the appropriate levels of grammar schools. Moreover, they are qualified to work in extracurricular (e.g. free-time) institutions. The graduates is ready to start her professional career on well-structured knowledge and skills in the field of music education. The effectiveness of his/her professional conduct is conditioned by his/her didactic knowledge of the content of music education at primary schools and by broader pedagogical and psychological knowledge and skills (knowledge of the broader background of education and training, knowledge of educational and educational practices, knowledge of education and training actors, etc.).

• Secondary school teacher

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.).

After completion of the Master's studies, it is possible to continue in doctoral studies (Ph.D.). At the Department of Music, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University applicants can study the programme Specialization in Pedagogy - Theory of Music and Pedagogy.