Innovation of the Pre-S ervice Teacher Education System for Lower Secondary Schools

Implementing the principles of professional preparation into teacher education programs in practice

Abstract

The paper focuses on reflecting the development of a new model of a professional teacher education program for Lower Secondary School Teacher Training with Specialisations and evaluates the conceptualisation of key parameters that give the programme its innovative character. The authors select various elements of this process and intersperse them with illustrative examples from the practice of one faculty of education – specifically, the Faculty of Education at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. The text examines possible forms of structuring the study plan of five-year master’s programmes and discusses innovations in the disciplinary component and its connection to the lower-secondary school curriculum. Further attention is devoted to the position of subject didactics in relation to disciplinary courses and reflective teaching practice. The authors describe their experience with applying a competence framework in the creation of content for individual courses. Notes are also devoted to the conception of the pedagogical‑psychological foundation and its connection to teaching practice and subject didactics. A distinctive feature of professional degree programmes is teaching practice in the form of a clinical semester and models of its reflection. The study presents the dynamics of the progression of these innovated teaching practices and the ways in which they are evaluated within joint reflection sessions involving students, university teachers, and mentor teachers. In addition, the results of an exploratory survey conducted among the headmasters of partner schools and students (pre-service teachers) are presented. Its aim was to identify – through SWOT analysis and focus group outputs – the risks and opportunities associated with the transition to five‑year, non‑structured master’s programmes. The paper addresses the research question: “How do different groups of respondents perceive the strengths and weaknesses of the new five‑year study model in comparison with structured (bachelor’s and follow‑up master’s) teacher education?” The study provides examples of the implementation of innovations in pre‑service teacher education at the aforementioned faculty of education, captures respondents’ perceptions of the new model of teacher preparation for the lower‑secondary level, and introduces further steps in transforming this preparation at the specific faculty.