MUSIC TEACHER TRAINING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Background

MTT is provided by the following institutions:

- universities [nine Faculties of Education in total – Prague, Ustí nad Labem, Plzeň, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Liberec, Ostrava, Brno, Olomouc], programmes to train primary and secondary school teachers, as well as teachers for elementary arts schools

- Academies of Arts [one in Prague, one in Brno], programmes to train teachers for elementary arts schools, conservatories [offering secondary education], and artists with a certificate in artistic education

Organisation

Universities offer the following types of programmes:

- primary school teacher - 4 or 5 years MA programme with or without majoring in Music

- secondary school teacher - 3 years BA programme with no specific major, plus a 2 year MA course focusing on teaching skills

Academies offer the following types of programmes

- state examination and certificate in music pedagogy [during BA or MA studies]

Requirements for entering the programme:

Usually, candidates must pass a special entrance examination. Every institution prepares its own requirements for every type of its study programme.

Duration of the programme (years and semesters)

- BA programme [3 years = 6 semesters], MA programme [2 years = 4 semesters]

- before Lisabon and the current structuring into BA and MA courses, there was also a full-fledged MA programme lasting 4 or 5 years [8 or 10 semesters]

Quota of taught hours, study programme Music Education

- MTT BA programme – a total of 741 hours

- MTT MA programme – a total of 325 hours

The title of the qualification

- University – Bc., Mgr.

- Academy – BcA., MgA.

Curriculum

Number of courses/modules studied

- BA programme

obligatory courses 42 hours [8, 8, 8, 8, 6, 4]

obligatory-optional courses 15 hours [2,2,2,2,3,4]

- MA programme

obligatory courses 6 hours [3, 2, 1, 0]

obligatory-optional courses 11 hours [3, 3, 3, 2]

Didactics 8 hours [2, 2, 2, 2]

Practice 2 weeks or 2 hours [2^nd and 3^rd semester, a total of 24 hours]

Number of courses or modules is individual [artistic study field, music theory, musicology, music history, performance, didactics, practice ins schools]

List of courses/modules teaching artistic/musical (performing, composing, etc.) skills:

a) Obligatory

Piano or Violin, Voice, Performance, Improvisation

b) Optional

Choir, Orchester, Chamber Music, Piano for Non-pianists, Guitar or Organ, Multimedia.

The number of optional subjects depends on the resources (financial and staff) of every school.

List of courses/modules teaching skills in the field of music theory and music history:

a) Obligatory

Intonation, Harmony, Music Instruments, Counterpoint, History of Music, Music Forms, Analysis of Music

b) Optional

Music Psychology and Diagnostics

List of courses/modules teaching pedagogical/teaching skills:

a) Obligatory

Didactics of Music Education, Music for Children

Inter-disciplinary approaches in Czech MTT:

- basics of tertiary education

- the science of education (pedagogy) and psychology, BA programme -130 hours, MA programme - 286 hours, plus teaching practice in every other programme

- 10 credits which students can use to attend courses offered by other departments of the faculty of the university

Organisation and length of the teaching practice in schools and other special features:

- an option of either two two-week periods or two hours per week of teaching practice in the 2^nd and 3^rd semester of the MA programme