Czech Language and Literature for Education

The objective of the Czech Language and Literature with a View to Education Bachelor's study programme is to prepare qualified specialists with a university degree who are able to work at institutions requiring expert knowledge of the Czech language and Czech literature. The graduates receive basic specialized education that contains inter-subject didactics. They are prepared to study for a Master’s degree in Education or in the field of the Czech language and literature, journalism etc.

“The character of a person is known from his conversations.”

The objective of the study is to actively acquire special knowledge and skills from the fields of the Czech language and Czech literature, including the skill of working with texts, i.e. to analyse a text from the aspect of linguistic correctness, stylistic refinement, and also from the literary-theoretical and literary-critical aspects. The study programme is designed in such a way that graduates are able to apply the acquired theoretical knowledge, evaluate texts critically, analyse and correct texts, undertake literary-scientific evaluation and interpret texts. They also acquire the skill of developing creative activities with literary texts and literary activities. During their studies, the students’ linguistic and literary-theoretical prerequisites for creative literary and journalistic authorship and their prerequisites for giving consultations in the field of the Czech language and literature are developed.

The graduates are also equipped with basic didactic skills that are required for working as an assistant to a Czech language and literature teacher. Primarily, they are able to teach pupils to interpret literary texts and to help pupils to express themselves in a cultivated manner appropriate for a particular situation.

Through studying for the Bachelor’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 teaching assistant or other educational worker (e.g. free-time instructor in youth centres or after-school clubs, in various civic associations engaged in pedagogical activities) in an appropriate manner.

The degree develops students’ analytical and comparative skills, which enable them to understand the diverse pedagogical reality and to use subject-specific, pedagogical, and psychological publications in their work for planning, implementing and reflecting on educational activities. 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); the principle of sequence and gradation of themes and courses, from the more general to the more specific. The concept is also characterized by the interdependence of theory and practice. 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).

The study also includes foreign language teaching. The requirement of students' level of one foreign language knowledge is at least the level A2 (according to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). The teaching follows in this level.

Practical training

The system of compulsory teaching practice is aimed at developing the students’ professional competences and preparing them for the full-fledged role of a teaching assistant. The aim of the teaching assistant practice is to acquire the necessary skills for individual work with a pupil outside the process of teaching (tutoring at school in the pupils’ homes) and also when working with a teacher during lessons.

The teaching practice consists of a coherent system of consecutive subjects, which are taken from the third to the fifth semester of the degree. These are the subjects teaching assistant practice - tutoring 1, teaching assistant practice - tutoring 2, consisting of individual tutoring (60 hours), teaching assistant practice - teaching assistant 1 (60 hours) and teaching assistant practice - teaching assistant 2 (60 hours) and teaching assistant practice – teaching assistant 3. Overall, there 180 hours of teaching practice.

In the third and fourth semesters, the teaching practice is followed by the subjects self-experiential preparation for the profession 1 and self- experiential preparation for the profession 2, in which the students of the teaching assistant practice reflect (24 hours). Their aim is to enable students to have real experience with selected themes (see seminar topics) regarding personal and professional development through experiential learning with an emphasis on reflection; to encourage students to gradually take responsibility for their own learning process (self-directed learning); to enable students to become aware of and, if necessary, to revise their attitudes towards their future profession.

The system of teaching practice is regularly evaluated both through closed and open questions, both by students and the mentor teachers. The reflective seminars are also evaluated.

Further information

http://www.ped.muni.cz/en/introduction

http://www.ped.muni.cz/en/departments-and-institutes/cjl/about-the-department

Characteristics of professions and institutions where the acquired education can be used:

• assistant in the studied field of education, i.e. the Czech language and literature in the primary school or lower secondary school;

• instructor at free-time centres;

• educator at youth centres and at after-school clubs;

• instructor or teacher at various citizens' associations connected with education;

• editor or proofreader;

• employee at cultural institutions requiring education in the Czech language and literature (linguistic consultant for radio and TV, theatres, etc.).

No information available

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Minimum score and numbers of accepted applicants in past years

After completion of the Bachelor's studies in Czech Language and Literature with a View to Education, it is possible to continue further studies in the following Master's degree programmes:

• Lower Secondary School Teacher Training in Czech Language and Literature, which is taught at any faculty of education in the Czech Republic;

• Lower Secondary School Teacher Training in Czech Language and Literature or Secondary School Teacher Training in the Czech Language, which are implemented at a faculty of education or faculty of arts;

• professional studies of the Czech language and literature and related fields (journalism, Czech literature etc.).