Geography Education

The objective of the study programme is to provide scholars, researchers, stakeholders, curriculum developers and motivated educators with high quality scientific training. Research can be conducted in the following areas:

- content and aims of geography curriculum, exploration of its intended, realized and achieved forms;

- principles, trends, actors, factors, processes and outcomes of geography education in broader socio-cultural contexts;

- education and professionalization of geography educators at all levels and types of schools and other educational institutions.

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

• understand theories, concepts and methods that represent the current state-of-the-art and trends in geography education;
• use knowledge, specialized skills and experience in solving problems in geography education research and / or innovations and in extending and redefining existing knowledge or professional practices;
• independently design and conduct research at all stages and to evaluate its results , to formulate a competitive research grant proposal;
• provide the professional community as well as the general public with the results of their research through studies in reviewed journals, in the form of monographs, papers at domestic and foreign conferences, contributions in popularizing media;
• cooperate with experts from other workplaces or institutions on a national and international scale;
• represent their field and institution in a wider interdisciplinary community, in the public and, in other areas (e.g. at the political level, in practice, in the sphere of decision making etc.);
• to demonstrate professional authority, autonomy and academic and professional integrity, and a lasting commitment to come up with new ideas and to develop new high-end practices in the field.

Graduates can find their occupation as:

- expert teachers at all levels and types of schools and other educational institutions;

- researchers at universities, educational research institutes and other national and international research institutions;

- university educators – educators of geography teachers;

- quality consultants in geography education;

- developers and evaluators of both formal and informal curricula, textbooks, atlases and other learning materials;

- developers of the conceptual frameworks in the field of geography education.

As part of their studies, PhD students participate in the practical training of students of bachelor and master study programmes (seminars, bachelor and master theses supervision) and other professional activities. It is not an exception that students of doctoral studies work as geography teachers or educators directly in practice at different levels and types of schools and out-of-school facilities. An indispensable part of dissertation theses is also the determination of implications or recommendations for practice resulting from the results of dissertation research.

Dissertation theses are original scientific theoretical, methodological and empirical works or their meaningful combinations. A theoretical dissertation elaborates on various theoretical approaches to problems in geography education, requiring a high degree of abstract and analytical thinking and insight. A methodological dissertation analyzes (new) research approaches, methods, research techniques and evaluates their strengths and weaknesses. An empirical dissertation produces particular findings obtained by specific research methods which always result from an original empirical investigation. The specification of the details of the dissertation theses is available in the relevant directive of the Dean of the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University.