Masaryk University (MU), located in Brno, is the second-largest public university in the Czech Republic and the leading higher education institution in Moravia. The university offers degrees in a wide range of traditional, as well as newly-emerging disciplines and is currently one of the fastest-growing higher education institutions in Europe. At present it comprises 9 faculties with over 200 departments, institutes and clinics.

Masaryk University is a public institution in the field of higher education which offers the following:

• accredited degree programmes at Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral levels as well as combined and distance study programmes in the field of pedagogy, primary and secondary education and special needs education;
• advanced (“rigorózní”) state examinations for graduates of Master’s degree programmes holding the title of “magistr” (Mgr.);
• life-long learning programmes providing continuous training for teachers.

The Faculty of Education was established in the autumn of 1946 as Masaryk University’s fifth faculty. The faculty’s main aim is to enhance the quality of life and education in the society by educating and training teachers for pre-primary, primary and lower secondary school levels.

A total of 6,458 students are enrolled at the faculty: 4,040 in Bachelor’s degree programmes, 2,246 in Master’s degree programmes and 172 in doctoral degree programmes (2012/2013 academic year). The faculty consists of 23 departments and employs a total of 371 academic and non-academic employees, including 15 professors and 59 associate professors. Instruction is provided by a total of 482 teaching staff including 282 MU employees, 68 students and 132 external faculty members. Since 1947, a total of 38,768 students have graduated from the faculty.

Research and development is a priority division of the faculty’s expertise including the areas of primary education and pedagogy, most importantly general pedagogy, subject didactics, special needs education, health and lifestyle training, aspects of social pathology and multicultural education.

Specialists from various departments participate in research in a range of scientific disciplines, either as members of faculty research teams or in collaboration with other universities or research institutes. The faculty is also involved in close cooperation with ministerial institutes and other institutions, e.g. the Refugee Facility Administration of the Ministry of the Interior, the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, the Lužánky Leisure Time Centre, Ecological Institute Veronica and the Brno House of Arts. Collaboration with foreign institutions likewise forms an integral part of research in a large number of scientific fields.
In addition, Masaryk University is placing a great deal of emphasis on international cooperation with prestigious foreign universities and research institutions. The university supports the continuous exchange of knowledge, ideas and information as well as of researchers, instructors and students on a worldwide scale, ensuring that it provides equal educational and research opportunities for all people indiscriminately.

Activities and experience

The most important activities of our faculty can be summarized as follows:

• initial teachers’ training programmes: the faculty provides initial teachers’ training in the field of pedagogy, pre-primary and primary education and special needs education;
• research and development: the faculty implemented more than 60 R&D projects in the field of school education and pedagogy, attracting different private national and international companies, NGO’s and associations as partners and investors. R&D in the field of pedagogy will be an invaluable asset for the development of the GSS methodology;
• publications: in 2015, the faculty experts prepared and published more than 85 books and articles in relevant national and international magazines in the field of pre-primary and primary education.
• monitoring and evaluation of academic quality: improving the quality of educational and research activities is one of the key strategic priorities of the Faculty of Education, which is why it closely monitors and evaluates both the internal and external aspects of education and research. The methodological management of the mechanisms for monitoring and ensuring quality is the responsibility of the Quality Centre, Strategy Office and the Research Department.

Within the GSS project, we will support the process of developing the intellectual output, and we will also carry out evaluation of project activities and their impact through providing academic know-how and expertise in the field of ECEC.

Masarykova univerzita v Brně
Žerotínovo nám. 617/9, Brno
Czech Republic
http://www.muni.cz/ped/

• PhDr. Zora Syslová, Ph.D.
  
  • Team leader for PedF MU Brno
  • Expert guarantor for early childhood education and care
• doc. Mgr. Jana Kratochvílová, Ph.D.
  • Expert guarantor for education in primary school