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

• characterize the main concepts and approaches in education and evaluate the current trends
• interpret processes of educational management and administration
• understand processes, principles, and mechanisms of educational policies at the national and European level
• characterize the main trends of development in European systems of education including innovative educational concepts
• characterize principal theories of teaching and learning curricular theories and theories of school
• evaluate teaching goals at various levels (types) of school institutions targeting various groups
• employ project management principles in developing and implementing educational projects
• use a wide range of educational methods and techniques based on experiential learning and reflective practice while being aware of their specifics; adjust these in creative ways depending on the needs of specific target groups
• characterize and evaluate theories, concepts, and methods of contemporary knowledge acquisition in educational (and related) disciplines relevant to the teaching/learning process
• characterize various forms and criteria of internal and external evaluation and self-evaluation in educational institutions
• understand methodological procedures employed in educational research
• analyse educational needs of various target groups in education and educational institutions
• propose a developmental project in education
• apply evaluation and self-evaluation procedures in educational institutions

Graduates of the Master’s degree study programme in pedagogy will be ready to take up pedagogical work involving people of all age categories. Their knowledge of educational theories and theories of adjacent disciplines provides them with an ability to participate in planning, implementing and evaluating pedagogical and educational activities. To this end, they are equipped with knowledge, skills, and competences acquired through the study of theoretical and applied disciplines, emphasizing the broad foundation shared by theoretical pedagogy and human sciences on the one hand, and the marriage of theory and practice in pedagogy on the other. In addition, graduates possess advanced knowledge and skills in empirical research methodology across the range of fundamental research designs.

The study takes four semesters and must not exceed four years.

The study programme offers a carefully chosen set of type A/required courses and a wide choice of type B/selective and type C/elective courses. In the Master’s degree study programme, students attend specialized courses in the area of methodology such as Pedagogic Evaluation, Comparative Educational Science, Quantitative Research, and Qualitative Research. There are also courses focused on management of educational institutions, education politics, and issues of e-learning, as well as courses dealing with implementing educational science in all phases of human development from pre-school and family educational science, adult education and andragogy, to gerontopedagogy.

The degree programme is structured into three interconnected optional modules, which also shape graduates’ job opportunities.

Module 1, School Administration and Education Policies, primarily directs graduates into institutions of formal education and associated offices (such as departments of education at city and town magistrates), specifically positions as educational experts in state administration and self-government.

Module 2, Experiential and Reflective Learning, opens opportunities for graduates to work in positions in educational agencies, consultancy firms, non-profit organizations, and state-run educational institutions providing pedagogical and educational activities primarily based on experiential and reflective learning.

Module 3, Methodology of Research in Educational Sciences, prepares graduates for jobs in educational research at a variety of research institutions.

These three modules correspond with the focus of the internship students undertake during their studies, choosing one reflecting their chosen track.

The internships are undertaken in the field (e.g. in departments of education of city and town magistrates, in educational agencies, consultancy firms, non-profit organizations, and educational research) and within the Expert Module course, taught by experts from the field. The course has been designed to prepare students for the internships but will also support the application level of the study. All internships are supplemented with reflection blocks co-managed by internship supervisors and experts in techniques of reflection from among the teaching staff at the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University.

The study programme is concluded by the defence of a diploma thesis and by the Master’s degree final state examination.

Graduates from the Master’s degree study programme in the Department of Educational Sciences can enrol in a doctoral degree study programme in pedagogy or in andragogy (including in English).