Education

The doctoral programme allows for the selection of profiling themes that reflect students’ individual interests and career goals, while maintaining an interdisciplinary approach that enriches their specific research focus.

Specifically, the programme offers the following specialisations:

School Pedagogy Specialisation, covered primarily by topics related to schooling, curriculum, teaching and learning;

Didactic-Geographic Specialisation, covered, for example, by topics such as the development of cartographic skills, or the evolution and current issues in geography education at the primary level;

Social Pedagogy Specialisation, covered, for instance, by topics related to the influence of institutional discourses on the education of children from socially excluded localities, social inclusion through the lens of diversity in the school environment, or the role of social pedagogy in leisure time as a means of preventing pathological phenomena.

The programme places strong emphasis on methodological competence, including the ability to formulate research questions, design appropriate research strategies, conduct empirical research, analyse data, and communicate research findings both within the scientific community and in practical educational contexts. The goal is to prepare researchers capable of contributing to the advancement of educational science, including its methodology.

Absolvent je po úspěšném ukončení studia schopen:

• Understand theories, concepts, and methods that reflect current disciplinary issues and trends at the international level.
• Apply knowledge, specialized skills, and experience to solve pedagogical problems in research and/or innovation, and to expand or redefine existing knowledge or professional practices.
• Critically reflect on, analyse, and evaluate the outcomes of scientific work in relation to educational reality and broader societal developments
• Independently design and carry out research in all its phases, evaluate its results, and prepare a competitive grant proposal
• Represent the field and institution within the wider interdisciplinary community, in public discourse, and where relevant, in other spheres (e.g., politics, professional practice, decision-making domains, etc.).
• Communicate research findings to both the academic community and the broader public: through peer-reviewed (or indexed) journal articles, monographs, and presentations at national and international conferences.
• Demonstrate professional authority, independence, academic and professional integrity, and a sustained commitment to generating new ideas and developing innovative practices at a high level of excellence within the field.
• Collaborate with experts from other institutions on both national and international levels.

The doctoral programme prepares graduates for a wide range of career opportunities, both within academia and beyond. Graduates are expected to find employment at universities, particularly in departments of education within faculties of education, philosophy, or similarly oriented institutions. They may also work in various educational organisations and research institutions, in the fields of consultancy or management, and in educational practice.

Graduates may provide consulting services to schools, educational institutions, or ministries, and contribute to the development and implementation of educational strategies, reforms, or new didactic methodologies.

They may work as expert advisors or analysts in governmental institutions.

Graduates may also participate in research projects within academic institutions, research centres, or grant-funding organisations.

The practical component of the programme has a specific character, focusing on the development of research and subject-specific academic skills and knowledge. It provides an opportunity for the interconnected development of doctoral students’ research and teaching competences.

Doctoral students are involved in the research activities of their supervisors, undertake a mandatory semester-long internship at a foreign institution, and participate in teaching within their supervisors’ courses.

Original scientific work whether theoretical, methodological, or empirical in nature or a suitable combination of these approaches is accepted as a dissertation.

Theoretical dissertations address selected theoretical approaches to problems within the field of study, demonstrating a high level of abstract and analytical thinking and insight.

Methodological dissertations analyse (new) research approaches, methods, techniques, or tools, evaluating their strengths and limitations.

Empirical dissertations present concrete findings obtained through specific research methods. The research results are based on conducted empirical investigations, and are interpreted, discussed, and situated within relevant theoretical frameworks and the current state of knowledge.

A dissertation may also take the form of a collection of published or accepted papers on the given topic. In such cases, the student must supplement the collection with an integrated introduction and commentary that provide a coherent overview of the topic.