Health Education

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 objective of the three-year Bachelor’s degree in health education is to prepare professionals with general socio-scientific knowledge covering educational and psychological disciplines, who will be ready to continue in the follow-up Master’s degree in Teaching health education. During the course, emphasis is placed on the development of professional skills and knowledge in health science, psychosocial areas and related scientific disciplines that the graduates will use in a practical context or in the Master’s degree. Part of the study will be to gain field-specific knowledge and skills in schools and institutions aimed at primary and secondary prevention.

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

• based on the knowledge in health science to create a holistic concept of health
• use adequate resources
• understand and lead a professional debate on field-specific resources
• produce their own text, presentation, project, etc.
• apply the knowledge, skills and abilities in the capacity of an assistant teacher in health edu.
• understand the role of an individual and society in health promotion and protection;
• describe and analyse an educational situation using specialised terminology and rules of effective pedagogical communication and to propose a change; use their knowledge and skills in communication with pupils, parents and teachers in the school;
• cooperate with various teachers at school and under their leadership to plan, implement and reflect on the sequence of teaching and activities in relation to the appropriate school curriculum;
• use self-reflective skills to reflect on their actions: for example, to better justify and evaluate their arguments, to give voice to their emotions and their connection to some behaviour or to critically review their own attitudes towards education;
• use basic methods and tools of pedagogical diagnostics in teaching to support differentiation and individualization in teaching, thus gaining data which is available for the support of an individual pupil/client;
• explain the basic principles of inclusive and special education; to reflect on their attitude towards diversity and its influence on their own teaching;
• explain the basic concepts of developmental and social psychology and identify potential development difficulties or difficulties in social competences or pupil adaptation at school based on the knowledge of the dynamics of developmental;
• and social-psychological aspects of the lives of pupils in the classroom;

The knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired during the studies form the basis of professional competences. The graduate will have a basic professional degree with a didactic component and will be ready to continue in the follow-up Master’s degree in Health Education teacher training. According to Section 20 of Act No. 563/2004 Coll., on educational staff as amended, the graduate can work as an assistant teacher, instructor in free-time centres, educator in youth centres, educator in after-school clubs, or in various civil associations engaged in educational activities.

• Teacher´s assistant

An integrating component of the studies includes reflected practical teacher training. The system of practical teacher training is designed to develop the students’ professional competences also by means of reflections of the educational reality and self-reflections. In this way the students become fully competent experts in the area of health education.

The final work of the student demonstrates the ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the course of study in working on a specific professional-pedagogical problem. The type of final thesis corresponds to the content and level of the given degree of study. The student chooses from the following types of works: a) theoretical-applied, b) theoretical-empirical (research), c) theoretical. The types of work and recommendations for their implementation are further guided by the APA manual. The length of the final thesis ranges from 81,000 to 130,000 characters, including gaps, i.e. 45-60 standard pages.

The standards for the implementation of the final theses at different departments are in accordance with the Dean's Instructions No. 1/2015 on implementation of the final work (Bachelor's, Master’s, post-graduate non-PhD and final works for Life-long Education) in the version effective from 1.11.2015.

The thesis follows the following goals based on the profile of the graduate of the Faculty of Education of MU. Students:

- demonstrate an awareness of the current issues of their field of study, they can clearly and comprehensibly define the topic of the final thesis and its objectives, describe the initial state of knowledge and propose appropriate methods of achieving their stated goals;

- work with appropriate primary and secondary sources of information, cite them according to a valid standard (APA) and in accordance with the ethics of academic work;

- through the creation of their own text they demonstrate stylistic competence, and the ability to create an academic text;

- demonstrate the ability to ask questions and solve problems, to formulate new ideas and conclusions that bring at least some new knowledge about the phenomenon being studied, or enrich the methodological (in the area of research) or methodical (in the area of education) procedures in relation to clearly defined target groups (pupils at primary and secondary school, groups with specific educational needs, etc.).

Graduates from the Bachelor’s degree may (subject to accession criteria) continue in the follow-up Master’s degree programme Lower Secondary School Teacher Training in Health Education.