Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in Social Studies Basics

Deadline for submitting applications: January 1 - April 30

The programme is intended for graduates of Bachelor’s programs in philosophy, ethics, religion, sociology, psychology, and the basics of social sciences with a focus on secondary school teacher training.

Exceptions may be granted to graduates of other social science programmes. In such a case, the applicant shall submit an extract from the study records, on the basis of which their scholarly readiness will be assessed. It will be assessed whether the applicant during their previous studies obtained a min. 20 credits for philosophical courses (e.g. courses such as history of philosophy, ethics, logic) and a min. 20 credits for social science courses (e.g. courses such as sociology, psychology, political science, international relations).

An exception may also be granted to those interested in a combined form of study who prove that they already teach the subject Social Sciences Basics at a secondary school.

Admission requirements: the applicant submits their Bachelor’s thesis (or Master’s thesis) and a motivation letter.

In the case of a Bachelor’s (or Master’s) thesis, the general abilities and competencies of the applicant that are expected in the final thesis (e.g. logical construction of the text, ability to clearly and comprehensibly formulate goals and conclusions, justification of the chosen topic, ability to argue and critical work with literature) will be assessed.

In the motivation letter, the applicant shall state which field of Bachelor’s studies they studied, why they want to study the field of Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in Social Studies Basics, why they have chosen the Department of Philosophy FA MU, and what topic they want to address in further studies and diploma thesis preparation.

The documents for the entrance examination must be uploaded into the e-application (rubric “Documents”) by 1 June. Applicants are required to include their full name and application number on all attached documents.

Website: Department of Philosophy.

General information on the course of the admission procedure to the follow-up Master’s degree programmes at FA MU can be found here. Documents for the current admission procedure are kept in Materials for Applicants.

Pass/fail line of the entrance examination: 65 points (out of 100). Bachelor thesis - max. 60 points, motivation letter - max. 40 points.

The purpose of the Follow-up Master’s degree programme in Teacher Training of Basics of Social Sciences for secondary schools is to prepare university-trained professionals who will be able to clearly and convincingly teach Humanities and Social Sciences Basics for various types of secondary schools. In addition to specialist knowledge in the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science, religious studies, fundamentals of economics, and law, the students also get didactic competencies; they will be able to manage pedagogical and psychological situations related to teaching and running schools and to treat students in a individual and differential manner. The objective of the study is active mastery of theoretical and practically applicable knowledge and skills with which the graduate will be able to enter the reality of secondary schools and to continue to improve and develop with the help of their own teaching experiences. The emphasis is placed on a systematic interpretation, familiarizing students with the current forms of problems in particular disciplines of social science and humanities and critical thinking and reasoning. The study programme is designed for students who have already completed a Bachelor’s degree in at least one of the disciplines comprising the subject of Humanities and Social Sciences Basics, and who want to pursue the teaching profession in the future. Graduates are qualified to work as teachers at secondary schools and lecturers at public and private educational institutions or as workers in publishing companies focused on educational and pedagogical literature.

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

• clearly and persuasively articulate basic theoretical and methodological knowledge of philosophy, psychology, religious studies, sociology, political science, law, and economics
• explain the relationship between different social science disciplines, including their overlaps into the fields of science and engineering
• reflect assumptions, the nature and value starting-points of different trends in thought and opinions
• use the obtained knowledge of teaching methods and forms and design educational content
• assess the topicality and relevance of particular trends in thought and argue in favour of their own proposed solution
• effectively plan, realize and evaluate their teaching at the standard level determined by the current curriculum.
• reflect on their experiences acquired during the micro-teaching and later apply them in their teaching. They are also able to use reflection and self-reflection as a tool for their own professional development.
• understand the principles of inclusive education and apply them in their teaching. The graduate is also able to implement basic diagnostic tools and use the acquired data for supporting individual students in a classroom.
• take into account students’ individual needs with regards to their learning style, maturity, personality, skills, knowledge, talents and other categories related to a student’s psychological profile.

The main occupational profile of graduates is the profession of teacher of the subject of Humanities and Social Sciences Basics at secondary schools. In addition, graduates can find jobs as teachers at public and private educational institutions or as workers in publishing companies focused on educational and pedagogical literature. The graduates will be prepared to design educational contents of a subject based on the focus and the needs of the educational institutions.

• Secondary school teacher

Practical training at secondary school is an obligatory part of the curriculum. An integral part of the teaching methodology is also feedback on the practical training.

For more information:

https://www.phil.muni.cz/student/pedagogicke-praxe

A standard scope of a Master's thesis ranges from 140,000 characters including footnotes, cover sheet, content, index, list of literature, and annotations. Students can work with already published texts and data accessible for secondary analysis. They should demonstrate the ability to work critically with specialized texts, process the concepts and theories discovered there, and find relevant answers to the given question.

After completing the Master’s degree study programme, it is possible to continue further studies in a doctoral degree study programme (after satisfying the admission requirements). The Faculty of Arts doesn't offer follow - up Doctoral's degree in Teacher Training's study programmes.