Lower Secondary School Teacher Training in Civics

The basic objective of the Master's programme is to prepare primary and lower secondary school teachers in civic education (in a combination of two subjects) as part of the educational area People and Society as defined in the Framework Educational Programme for Elementary Education. The programme provides students with integrated knowledge and skills based on the field of civic education and its didactics, pedagogical and psychological disciplines with the support of current research findings, the skill of reflection on the teaching process at the appropriate types and levels of education, the skill of self-reflection in the teacher's role and the acceptance of moral obligations and the ethics of a teacher. The aim of the programme is to prepare graduates for the profession of teachers of civic education in primary and lower secondary schools, to develop professional skills and gain knowledge from the social sciences which they can then use in their teaching. Another important goal is to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary for their civic participation in a democratic society. Graduates are given a full university education to become civics teachers for primary and lower secondary schools. Moreover, they are qualified to work in extracurricular (e.g. free-time) institutions. They are ready to base their professional conduct on well-structured knowledge and skills from the social sciences. The effectiveness of their professional conduct is subject to their acquired didactic knowledge of content related to the teaching of civics in primary and lower secondary schools and their general pedagogical and psychological knowledge and skills (knowledge of a broader foundation of education and training, knowledge of educational practice, knowledge about the participants in education, 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.).

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. 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).

Practical training

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.

Further information

http://katedry.ped.muni.cz/obcanska-vychova

A teacher of civics education for primary and lower secondary schools, an instructor in free-time centres, a professional employee in state administrative structures, NGOs and in the private sector specialized in cooperation with the institutions of the European Union.

No information available

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Minimum score and numbers of accepted applicants in past years

One year programme of social sciences for secondary schools.

Postgraduate studies in pedagogy (Ph.D.)