Teaching of History (in combination)

prof. PhDr. Róbert Letz, PhD.

prof. Mgr. Pavol Matula, PhD.

doc. PhDr. Miroslav Kamenický, CSc. (FM professor)

doc. Mgr. Jaroslav Nemeš, PhD.

Mgr. Miriam Viršinská, PhD. (FM associate professor)

Mgr. Ivana Dendys, PhD.

Mgr. Pavol Makyna, PhD.

Study advisor(s) (tutor(s)):
Mgr. Miriam Viršinská, PhD., virsinskafedu.uniba.sk

Student study advisor for the study programme:

Marcela Minková, minkova2uniba.sk, ANHI

Michal Fecko, fecko18uniba.sk, ANHI

Coordinator for International Mobility and Erasmus+:  
prof. Pavol Matula, PhD., matulafedu.uniba.sk

The Bachelor's study programme 23668 Teaching History combined in the full-time form of study implements the requirements of the study field 38 in specific contexts. Teaching and Educational Sciences, Teacher Preparation with subject specialization for the quality preparation of teaching assistants and lecturers for the foundations of education in the humanities or for the educational field of Human and Society.  

Content of specific teacher education programs (double majors) within the field of study 38. Teaching and Educational Sciences is formed by combining the content of three components - the Common Social Science, Educational and Psychological Basis of Teaching (hereafter referred to as the "Teaching Basis" or "TB") and the two approbations.   

At the same time, the Department of History systematically and in the long term confronts the content of its programme with the long-term strategic goals of education at PdF UK. On the basis of all these objectives, the Department of History of the Faculty of Education of Comenius University has formed and regularly checks the functionality of a structure with consistently determined requirements for the completion of courses in three interconnected components of the preparation of future graduates: in the general teaching basis, in the basics of academic - scientific historiography, in the basics of the transposition of academic history into school history (history and its didactics).

The structure of the student's study plan in this Bachelor's programme, i.e. the division of the study programme into compulsory (P), compulsory elective (PV, divided into group A; group B) and elective courses is designed to combine, according to the current criteria and objectives of pedagogy, in an appropriate composition, a specific system of knowledge from: 1. The basic philosophical contexts of pedagogical thinking, the social and societal context of education, the basic psychology of child and adolescent development and biology, the general theories of education, the organisation and legislation of schools; 2. the knowledge of the first skills of the theory and practice of lower secondary education in history; 3. the basics of the specialised subject context (history teaching).

The curriculum also determines (recommends) the student's learning paths: i.e. the time and content sequence (continuity) of the teaching of individual subjects and teaching methods, informs him/her about the forms of assessment of learning outcomes and about his/her workload expressed in credits. On the basis of the defined rules, in accordance with the conditions of the study programme and in accordance with the Study Regulations of the Faculty of Education of Comenius University in Bratislava, the student draws up his/her own study plan. The student determines his/her study plan for the following period of study by enrolment. He/she enrols in subjects of such credit value and in such a composition of compulsory, compulsory optional and optional subjects that he/she can fulfil the conditions for enrolment in the next part of the study in the control stage of the study. In the academic year in which the student plans to complete his/her studies, he/she shall enrol in courses of such credit value and in such a composition that, by successfully completing them, he/she will fulfil the conditions for completing his/her studies.

The combined programme of history teaching has directly incorporated into its structure the requirements and knowledge of study field 38, i.e. the subjects of the component of the common social-scientific, pedagogical and psychological basis of teaching (TB programme) at the Faculty of Education of Comenius University. It consists of: profile subjects Theoretical Principles of Education, Psychology for Teachers 1, General Didactics, Pedagogical Communication, Pedagogy of Leisure Time, Psychology for Teachers 2;

compulsory optional subjects: Digital Technologies 1, Digital Technologies 2, Social Psychology for Teachers, Social Psychological Training for Teachers;

optional subjects: Digital Technologies 3, Patopsychology for Teachers. (Other components on which TB works directly with the department of history are described in other sections of the SP.

Thus, while by including the supporting topics of the core requirements and knowledge of the field of study in the SP, the department follows and accepts the path recommended by TB, the specialised (partial subject component) of the SP - the composition and timetable of its curriculum - presents students with a way in which they can most effectively acquire knowledge about particular periods and areas of historical development, while at the same time striving to convey to them the ways of transposing them into the form of history as a system closest to historical science, organically based on it and at the same time autonomous. The specialisation structure of the SP thus clearly reflects two parallel aspects of the preparation of students for their employment in the educational process of the Slovak Republic: from the very beginning of their studies, historical preparation is also closely related to the practical form of teaching (or making history accessible to the wider public).

Another expression of the table is the recommended study path by year (semesters) of study.  

The compulsory subjects (10 profile subjects and 1 non-profile subject) form a group of presenting subjects in terms of content:  

a/ the basic trends of the historical development of the world and national historical development in their basic chronological framework (History of Slovakia I (up to 1526), History of Slovakia II (1526 - 1780), History of Slovakia III (1780 - 1914), History of Slovakia IV (1914 - 1992); World History II (476 - 1492), World History III (1492 - 1789), World History IV (1789 - 1914), World History V (1914 - 1992). This conception of the basic temporal and thematic division of the presentation of historical processes in its two dimensions follows and reflects the broadest consensus of the scientific community, respectively the results of contemporary historiography;

b/ basic knowledge of the general principles and principles of acquisition and processing of historical knowledge and of the principles of interpretation of this knowledge in the school educational process, including the functional possibilities of its acquisition (Introduction to the Study of History, Foundations of Modern Didactics of History, Seminar on the Foundations of Modern Didactics of History).

Compulsory optional subjects: group A consists of a group of subjects expanding, deepening, but above all fixing the knowledge, competences and skills acquired by the student during the completion of profile courses (Historical proseminar, Methodology of writing a professional text in history, Regional history of Slovakia, General history I.

Group B consists of courses dealing with the methods and forms by which, in the areas selected by the department, students can participate more actively and independently, on the basis of their specific interest, in deepening their professional knowledge in historiography and at the same time they can improve their skills and competence in the methodology of interpretation and access to historical knowledge both in historiography, as well as for the wider area of those interested in history (Seminar on World History I, Seminar on World History II, Seminar on Slovak History III, Seminar on World History IV, Seminar on World History V, Seminar on Slovak History I, Seminar on Slovak History II, Seminar on Slovak History III, Seminar on Slovak History IV, Historical Geography, Latin for History Teachers, Didactics of Non-Formal History Education).

Elective subjects: they extend and provide several skills in areas that help the student to verify and functionally deepen the qualifications necessary for his/her expected employment in the educational environment of the history specialisation (Practice in cultural institutions, History Olympics, Project activity, Club activity, Empirical research, Excursion I, Excursion). 

MOBILITY:
Students in the study programme 23668 History Teaching Combined may take advantage of mobility offers based on contracts concluded by the Department of History in the long term, thanks to which students may travel to a foreign university for a study stay. On average, 1-3 students of the Department go on mobility annually.  
The most used mobility programme of the School of History is the Erasmus+ study programme, under which it is possible to complete part of the studies in EU countries:
in France (University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne), Paris  
in Poland: (Jagiellonian University , Institute of History), Krakow  
in Slovenia : University of Primorska, Koper, Faculty of Humanities  
in the Czech Republic: in Brno, Masaryk University in Brno,
Faculty of Education Ústí nad Labem, J.E. Purkyně University, Faculty of Education
Liberec, Technical University, Faculty of Science, Humanities and Pedagogy

FEEDBACK:
Student evaluations of teachers' work through anonymous questionnaires: summarization for the academic year. Anecdotal annotation of student teachers' evaluations:
Students evaluated all teachers of the department and basically all subjects taught. The numerical expression of satisfaction with the work of the lecturers ranges very high for all questionnaires (from 1. 0 - 1.06 -1.09 as the best possible rating through the most recurrent ratings on a scale of 1, 36 to 1.97 to an exceptional 2.5) . Students regularly (96% of all questionnaire responses in both semesters) praise both the professional and personal approach of the lecturers, and give rather specific examples of this (most frequently: mastery of the subject, excellent way of presenting information, immediate and quick approach to answering requests for additional information, willingness to help with any additional difficulties). Only very rarely was there an opinion about the content of the lectures or the subject being too difficult or, individually, another complaint ( occasional lengthening of the lecture time). Moreover, even with such lecturers and in such evaluations, there are very positive comments about the very concrete results of their work with students.

STUDY PLAN

Bachelor's degree study programmes offered by the Faculty of Education of Comenius University have set limits for the number of applicants admitted on the basis of the planned limit approved by the Academic senate PdF UK.

The condition for admission of applicants to the Bc programme 23685 Teaching of History in Combination is the completion of high-school studies including school-leaving exams. The required proof of the acquisition of education is a certified copy of the diploma of the school leaving exams.

A graduate of a bachelor's degree programme is admitted to a subsequent master's degree programme in the same or a related field of study or a combination of fields of study (with a specific specialisation of the degree programme) and taking into account the capacity of the department providing the teaching. In case of greater interest of applicants in the chosen study programme than the planned limit approved by the AS PdF UK, the order of admitted applicants will be processed on the basis of the achieved weighted study average for the entire study, which is calculated only from the successfully completed courses. Applicants are admitted to a predetermined number of places.

By successfully completing the first degree of the study programme 23668 Teaching History in Combination, the student obtains a Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) and a qualification corresponding to level 6 according to the Slovak Qualification Framework (SKKR). Proof of qualification is a university diploma (level 1), a certificate of state examination and a supplement to the diploma.

The competences, knowledge and skills of a bachelor's degree graduate, including transferable competences acquired during studies, enable him/her to be employed in professions requiring an appropriate level of communication, information, learning, cognitive, interpersonal and personal competences and the knowledge, skills and competences of a graduate corresponding to level 6 of the Slovak Qualifications Framework.

On the basis of Decree No. 1/2020 Coll. of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic on the qualification requirements for pedagogical staff and professional staff, within the meaning of §2, paragraph 1 and Annex No. 6, point 1, the graduate of the first degree meets the qualification requirements for the performance of the professional activity of a pedagogical assistant, lecturer in cultural, educational, educational and awareness-raising institutions.

In accordance with the SKKR, a graduate of the first level of the SP (level 6 of the SKKR) will obtain qualifications and will be qualified for the following employment and profession:

1. teaching assistant for primary education
2. teaching assistant for lower secondary education in history
3. lecturer (educator) in cultural, educational and awareness-raising institutions.

The study programme of the first degree is also aimed at the continuation of the education of Bc. graduate at the master's level and to obtain a full qualification for the performance of the professional activity of a teacher of history (history) in combination in the category of primary and secondary (lower and higher) education or primary education of the first, second and third cycle and in the category of secondary education, or the qualification of a museum educator.

On the labour market, the graduate of SP 23668 will be employed as a teaching assistant in primary and secondary education and also as a lecturer (educator) in educational, cultural and outreach institutions. The qualified performance of the graduate's profession is mainly related to the profile subjects History of Slovakia I-V, General History II-V, Fundamentals of Modern Didactics of History with the relevant seminar and Introduction to the Study of History; compulsory elective subjects of Group A: Regional History of Slovakia and Group B: Didactics of Non-Formal History Education and seminars on Slovak and General History. Electives, e.g.: Practice in cultural institutions, excursion, are also included in the framework of subjects preparing for the future profession. By completing the courses, the student will acquire the required knowledge, skills and competence for the profession.

Graduates of the first degree in the field of teaching and pedagogical sciences have a very wide field of application in our schools. According to the requirements of teachers, educators and professional staff, a teaching assistant helps to create equality of opportunity in education and training, assists a pupil or group of pupils in overcoming information, language, health, social or cultural barriers. The teaching assistant, with the school support team and teachers, seeks effective strategies to develop children's potential, identifies with the teacher the sources of failure in teaching and provides assistance in problem solving.

Likewise, the graduate can be employed as a lecturer in educational, cultural and outreach institutions. He/she can competently carry out professional activities and participate in the creation of educational projects (in cooperation with, for example, a museum educator or a cultural outreach worker). He or she may also be responsible for the implementation of exercises and educational programmes aimed at practical application. He/she is able to popularise the knowledge of historical science through the methods and strategies of modern history didactics, thus developing forms of historical education not only for the pupil population but also for the wider public ("Public History").

The Department has expanded and broadened the spectrum of applicability of its SP Bachelor's degree graduates into diverse areas of educational teaching practice in history oriented to children and youth with non-standard learning needs and abilities. It enables BA students to undertake both practicum and internship placements in training schools (e.g., Central European Primary Schools).

• Slovak National Museum

• Institute of Memory of the Nation

• Slovak Technical Museum - Museum of Transport in Bratislava

• Gymnasium Grosslingová 18, Bratislava

• Bilingual Grammar School C. S. Lewis, Bratislava

• Gymnasium Bilíkova, Bratislava

• Jagiellonian University, Institute of History, Kraków 

• University of Primorska, Koper, Faculty of Fine Arts 

• Masaryk University in Brno, Faculty of Education

• Ústí nad Labem, J.E. Purkyně University, Faculty of Education

• Kamenicky_VUPCH_SK.pdf
• Letz_VUPCH_SK.pdf
• Matula_VUPCH_SK.pdf
• VTC_Kamenicky_1_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Kamenicky_2_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Kamenicky_3_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Kamenicky_4_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Kamenicky_5_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Letz_1_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Letz_2_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Letz_3_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Letz_4_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Letz_5_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Matula_1_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Matula_2_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Matula_3_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Matula_4_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf
• VTC_Matula_5_bc_mgr_phd_PdF.pdf