Social Education and Counselling

The aim of the Social Education and Counselling Bachelor’s study programme is to prepare graduates for direct pedagogical, counseling and social work with clients. The graduate can use pedagogical and counseling procedures when working with children, teenagers, adults, and seniors with various socio-pedagogical needs (e.g., clients with disabilities, socially disadvantaged, socially excluded, addicted, neglected by their family, unable to care for their family member, etc.).

Attainment of this goal is facilitated by the structure of the study plan. In the course of the study, students gain a broad theoretical background, i.e. knowledge of pedagogy, psychology, sociology, social work and social policy. An integral part of the programme is methodological preparation, which aims to cultivate analytical and critical thinking and to teach students to orient themselves in the findings of various types of research studies in the humanities. Students acquire this set of knowledge and skills through compulsory courses, which can be deepened or expanded by enrolling in selective courses. The composition of selective courses guarantees that each student gains a specific range of professional skills or competencies according to their preferences. A wide range of selective courses together with other mechanisms (e.g., creating an individual plan of practice, choosing the topic of the minor paper and then of the Bachelor’s thesis according to the student’s preferences, the possibility of partial participation in the projects of the Department of Educational Sciences) create the conditions for gradual building of a professional profile of each student. The effort is a connection of experience - theory - research.

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

• describe elementary level of knowledge in educational sciences and related sciences.
• interpret selected theories of social education, social work and counseling.
• participate in the management of educational and preventive activities in different types of institutions / social environments and to do so in accordance with applicable legislation..
• participate in socialization and resocialization activities in different types of institutions / social environments and to do so in accordance with applicable legislation.
• respect the age-related, individual and other peculiarities of clients in direct pedagogical and social work.
• integrate basic principles of professional ethics and counselling in direct pedagogical and social work
• organize leisure time activities and propose a programmes as well as individual development projects for different target groups
• reflect on one’s own professional development and own limits of professionality.
• propose the project of own research work in a methodologically correct way.
• implement a simple research probe.
• write scholarly text.

The study programme will allow graduates to find jobs in the state administration and self-government, in the offices and organizations falling under the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Justice. Graduates have excellent chances to find employment in the non-profit sector, specifically in organizations that integrate pedagogical, social and counselling work within the range of social services they provide according to the needs of client target groups.

Students are required to undertake an internship (the title of the course is Practical training) in a total of 240 hours (90–100 hours internship in the selected facility, 140–150 hours of working on the assignments and their reflection). Internship in a selected facility is continuous and lasts for at least 3 weeks; students choose the facility on their own. It is possible to enrol for the internship in the fourth or sixth semester of study (spring), with the possibility to plan its completion for the extended examination period.

In addition to the compulsory internship, students can at any time in the course of the study enrol for the selective course Practice (individual plan). This internship (120 hours) is based on an individual plan that is prepared with each student prior to starting in the facility, based on the student’s professional interest. Students select the institution for the internship according to their preferences.

The Department of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Arts has established long-term collaboration with numerous institutions where students can do the internship.

By writing their Bachelor’s thesis, students demonstrate that they can search for current and relevant domestic and foreign sources on a selected topic, can critically work with expert literature and consistently use specialized terminology, understand the methodology of their own research probe or the proposed project and can formulate meaningful conclusions of their work.

Students are required to produce a Bachelor’s thesis of one of two basic types:

A) Theoretical-empirical thesis containing a research probe. The research probe represents a minor empirical survey that may have a quantitative or qualitative character, or the nature of a historical research probe.

B) Theoretical-application thesis, which includes a model project designed to be applied in pedagogical, social or counselling practice.

The standard length of Bachelor’s thesis is 70,000 characters (including spaces).

Maximum length is 120,000 characters. Guidelines for signing up for Bachelor’s thesis topics, more detailed requirements for individual types of theses as well as evaluation criteria are defined in the Standard for Written Theses for the Bachelor’s State Examination at the Department of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Arts, MU, see http://pedagogika.phil.muni.cz/studium/bakalarska-prace

Graduates of the Bachelor’s study programme Social Education and Counselling may continue in Master’s studies in the same programme, or Andragogy study programme, or the Education study programme directly at the Department of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University.

When the admission conditions have been met, graduates may continue to pursue a Master’s degree study in the same or related fields not only at MU but also at other universities.