Current Research
Current Research and Development Projects of the Department of Educational Sciences
Current Research and Development Projects of the Department of
Educational Sciences
Research projects
2006-2008
Czech Science Foundation
Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Work of Teachers
Grant manager: Jiří Zounek
Project team members: Klára Sedova, Milada Rabusicova
The central subject of the project being proposed are information and
communication technologies (ICT) with respect to the teacher and
her/his everyday work at basic schools. ICT are understood here as one
of the constituting features of knowledge society and their pedagogic
potential is emphasized. We assume in line with the strategic trends of
the Czech and European educational policies that ICT will play an
increasingly important role in school education. The project proposed
therefore seeks to explore and describe whether and in which ways
information and communication technologies become part of the everyday
work of teachers as the key subjects in school education. We will
approach the problem as a process, at the level of professional teacher
biography and at the level of everyday decisions concerning the use of
ICT, implementation of this use, and its reflection. The empirical
survey is designed as a two-stage one. The first stage will involve
qualitative exploration of the problem on the basis of grounded theory
while the second stage will consist in quantitative testing of
hypotheses formulated as an output of the first stage.
2004-2008
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic, research program “Modern Society and its Transformations”
Education in Different Stages of the Life Cycle: priorities, opportunities and possibilities for development
Grant manager: Milada Rabušicová
Project team members: Klára Šeďová, Ladislav Rabušic, Milan Pol, Vlastimil Čiháček, Dana Knotová, Petr novotný, Jiří Zounek
The research project deals with adult education as part of lifelong learning. It should help map the situation in this field in the Czech Republic along the following dimensions: which are the educational needs of the adult population, which are the current educational opportunities in formal and informal education, how does the educational offer match the educational demand, which specific barriers are there with respect to individual target groups of adults, which approaches and solutions can be used to support greater and more meaningful involvement of the adult population in the process of lifelong learning, how should the whole situation be perceived in terms of state policies and other relevant subjects involved in human resource development and how it should be evaluated in the context of the situation other EU countries. The project also includes several component studies covering issues in the individual areas defined by the dominant life roles of the adult population in the Czech Republic, namely topics in educational support in pre-senior and senior age (including support to functional literacy enhancement), educational support of the parent role, the citizen role, of professional and career development (including ICT use opportunities), educational support for adults with special health needs and educational support of hobby development as part of enhancement of leisure time activities among the adult population. The project will employ both quantitative (survey of a representative sample of the Czech sub-population aged 20-65) and qualitative methods (biographical method, in-depth interviews based on anchored theory, group interviews, content-level analysis of documents of relevant institutions and providers of adult education programs), their dominant application being in line with the partial research objectives for the individual stages of the project.
The Small Schools with Composite Classes in Czech Republic: Analysis of Current Situation and Further Development Potentials
The Project is focused on small schools with composite classes, which are specific institutions in primary education. The aim is to identify main conditions of their existence and look for potentials of their further development. Within small schools, we will pursue specific features of small school managing with connection to specific features of small school pedagogy. Furthmore, we will aim at external conditions, i. d. in particular legislation, economical conditions, demographic factors and local conditions. As for methodology, the Project will be built on the existing theoretical knowledge of the issue both in Czech and foreign resources. In pursuit of the research aim, we will analyse legislative documents and carry out social-demographic analysis of rural areas, where small schools are typical. As for empirical part of the Project, the crucial point will be the questionnaire reasearch aimed at directors of small schools and chairmen of parish councils. The data will be enriched with a thorough analysis of a concrete small school in a village (a case study). The project will contribute to the discussion about advantages and disadvantages of small schools, identify main conditions of their present existence and point out further development potentials. It will also highlight possible inspirations for the primary education mainstream.
2003-2004
National Training Fund
Research project “Counsellor Training in the Czech
Republic”
(project team: Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts,
Masaryk University)
Research and development projects
2002 -2003
Socrates Program, Comenius 2.1 Action (Training of School Education
Staff):
Lehrerfortbildung: Berufswahlorientierung und Berufliche Integration
von Jugendlichen
(cooperating institutions: Landesinstitut für Schule und Weiterbildung,
Soest, Germany; Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands; project team
members: Milan Pol, Lenka Hloušková, Petr Novotný)
Project
website
Development projects
2005
Transformation and development project 2005 supported by the
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
Development of Counselling Services at Masaryk University
(grant manager: Mgr. Šárka Karamazínová (Centre for Education and
Counselling, MU), project team members: Jan Beran, Marek Navrátil, Dana
Knotová, Lenka Hloušková)
The goal of the project is to develop an integrated concept of counselling and information services for students of Masaryk University. The goal of the project is to provide information, professional services and social support for students as a form of assistance in cases of adaptation problems or study failure and to prevent feelings of dissatisfaction and failure in studies and life. The project focuses especially on clients a without pathological symptoms and students with a range of special health needs.
Outputs of the project:
- development of educational programs for students of Masaryk
University
- organization of communication and self-experience groups
- psychological incubator
- discussions with employers and experts working from the field
- introduction of an internship system
2004
Transformation and development program supported by the Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
An Integrated Project of Lifelong Learning at Masaryk University
Faculties. The project includes a sub-project called “Development of a
training scheme for primary and secondary school counsellors –
contemporary issues in education”.
(project manager: Dana Knotová)
The goal of the project is development of a training scheme for primary and secondary school counsellors, focused on the development of pro-social personality and professional traits. The course will deal with issues in special pedagogy, current issues in multicultural education and possibilities of prevention of social pathological phenomena.
Expected outputs:
1. development of a curriculum
2. syllabi development
3. provision of technological and physical equipment for the course
(including technological devices, literature and study materials)
2004-2006
Development project supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth
and Sports of the Czech Republic, Sub-program I, Letter a
A Three-year Program of Master Studies in Education (for graduates
of Bachelor programs in fields other than Education and immediately
related)
(project manager: Milan Pol)
The project will create conditions for implementation of a new program of studies as part of module-based studies at the Department of Educational Sciences. The objective is to prepare for implementation (and subsequent accreditation) a follow-up intramural program of Master studies in Education to extend the range of study programs offered by the Department of Educational Sciences. The expected standard length of studies in the program is 6 semesters. The program will be designed for graduates of Bachelor programs in fields other than Education or immediately related and will represent a tangible extension of the offer of studies programs for graduates of programs in fields other than Education.
Expected outputs:
1. development of a curriculum
2. development of syllabi for the individual disciplines
3. organizing a team of experts and program supervisors to prepare the
curriculum and syllabi for the individual disciplines
4. provision of technological and material equipment, i.e. equipping
the Department with adequate didactic technologies, literature and
study materials
2004
The University Development Fund (FRVŠ), Reg. No. F5 486 a
Development of the PhD Program in Education at the Faculty of Arts,
Masaryk University
(project manager: Milan Pol)
The goal of the project is innovative change and qualitative development of the PhD program in Education at the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University.
The project deals with the organization and evaluation of a cycle of 10 lectures by Czech and foreign experts in Education in 2004. The cycle will cover a significant portion of the range of current issues in Education as on of the social sciences. It will concern issues in general education, methodology of education, comparative education, general theory of instruction, andragogy, selected topics in theory of instruction, and a number of other subdisciplines. The 2004 cycle of lectures will serve as a pilot stage of the cycle of lectures for PhD students; the project will be evaluated at the end of 2004 and steps will be made to make the initiative a relatively permanent feature of the PhD program in Education at the Department of Educational Sciences, faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno.
2004
The University Development Fund (FRVŠ), Reg. No. A 471 b
Multimedia Training Room for Teacher Trainees and Students of
Psychology and Education
(project manager: Jiří Zounek, project team members: M. Svoboda, M.
Pol)
The project is focused on establishing a “multimedia training room for teacher trainees and students of psychology and education” at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. The training room should become a space where students will – under teacher supervision –prepare for coping with modern technologies effectively and use electronic media.
2004
The University Development Fund (FRVŠ), Reg. No. F5 484 a
Innovation of the Andragogy Course at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk
University
(project manager: Petr Novotný)
The project is an organic extension of the activities of the project manager’s department (workshops and conferences) dealing with theoretical and practical development of training for professionals in communication and human resources. The project is designed so that experience gained within its framework can be further developed and implemented effectively at the university. By elaborating an important and interesting topic, the proposed project will provide the project manager’s department with new opportunities in training of students of Education and Social Education and Counselling and above all prepare conditions for linking theory with practice. This effort will increase the labour market opportunities for the potential graduates. The curricular innovation will be supported with an adequate selection of information resources, which are still rather scarce. The implementation of the project will, among other things, open new opportunities for extending the Third Age University curricula.
Specific outputs of the project:
- introduction of new topics in the curriculum of the subject (e.g.
reflective practice, action research, application of the Kolb cycle of
experiential learning etc.) in a form facilitating students their
practical application in adult education;
- testing the functionality of integration of new topics into the
curriculum;
- creating a physical, technological and information basis for the
outputs listed above (literature, internet resource processing, study
materials).
2004
BCES (Brno Centre of European Studies) project at Masaryk
University
A System of European Study Units Integrated within BCES
(project team member: Milada Rabušicová)
The project’s ambition is to develop and deepen the functions of the BCES coordination centre and to establish organization and conceptual basis for development of specific courses concentrating an offer of information services in European education at Masaryk University of Brno. Masaryk University intends to use the framework of the project to contribute to nation-wide and international cooperation including relevant support to administrative, political and diplomatic bodies in the Czech Republic and around Europe. By contributing to the course offer, the following faculties of Masaryk University will participate in the project: Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Social Studies, Faculty of Business and Administration, Faculty of Education. The Department of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University will participate in the project by offering a newly developed course called “Czech Educational Policies in the European Context”.
Previous Research and Development Projects of the Department of Educational Sciences
Research Projects
2001 – 2003
Czech Science Foundation, Reg. No. 406/01/1077
The Position of Parents as Educational and Social Partners of
School (grant manager Milada Rabušicová, project team members
Vlastimil ?ihá?ek, Kate?ina Emmerová)
The project focuses on parents, namely parents of children at the pre-primary, primary and lower secondary stages of education, i.e. parents of children either preparing to enrol compulsory school or currently undergoing compulsory education. We are interested in parents as persons inevitably involved in the process of upbringing and education of their children, no matter that they may partly delegate their role more or less obligatorily to school. We are interested in parents, who – besides the child and the teacher – represent another necessary vertex of the hypothetical triangle symbolizing the relations in the process of upbringing and education. We are interested in parents, who, by their opinions and attitudes including the unspoken and covert ones, have a significant impact on the operation of schools and on changes in the educational system in general, and who represent a potentially very strong political group.
Our wish is to use the project to identify answers to questions about the role of parents as educational and social partners of school. The arguments for involving parents in the process of formal upbringing and education are generally known. We want to establish to which extent the real situation regarding the position of parents with respect to school in the Czech Republic correlates with the existing theoretical starting-points. The methodological framework of the research will build on the existing theoretical knowledge on the role of parents in the system of education as represented in the literature published both in the Czech republic and abroad. This stage will be followed by the research proper and an analysis of the current situation of the role of parents in the process of upbringing and education in nursery schools and at the second stage of primary education. A set of quantitative and qualitative research methods will be employed.
2001 - 2003
Czech Science Foundation, Reg. No. 406/01/1078
Czech school culture and a strategy for its development
(grant manager Milan Pol, project team members Lenka Hloušková, Petr
Novotný, Ji?í Zounek)
The project focuses on school culture – as a concept with a radical effect on the operation of the main domains of school functioning – and the internal and external conditions and possibilities of school culture cultivation.
We are especially interested in understanding the culture of Czech school, i.e. its main characteristics and effects, in exploring the relations between the contemporary state in the culture of Czech school on the one hand and its historical development and the current situation in the Czech society and education on the other. Besides that, we want to identify internal and external possibilities of influencing school culture and providing support to formal education as such and formulate effective strategies of development of Czech school culture – with a view to development of formal education as a relatively autonomous and democratic institution. We intend to compare our findings with the findings of research on an international scale.
The methodological basis of the research will be provided by a survey of the existing general knowledge of school culture and its elements, of internal and external factors conditioning change of school culture. This mapping will be followed by research of the state of school culture at the second level of primary education using a battery of quantitative and qualitative methods. The obtained information will provide a basis for formulation of strategies of transformation of the culture of Czech school as described above.
2001 - 2002
Sponsor: National Training Fund, Prague
Czech and Foreign Grant Opportunities and Their Exploitation by
Schools at the Secondary and Tertiary Level of Education: identifying
opportunities, their demand factor and requirements concerning the
project team
(Project team: Department of Educational Sciences)
1997 - 1998
Research Support Scheme of the Open Society Institute/Higher
Education Support Programme (OSI/HESP): Grant No. 293/1997
Diversification of the Czech Educational System at the University
Level: establishment and development of post-secondary
education
(project manager: Milada Rabušicová)
Research and development projects
21.4. - 25.4. 2003
ARION Study Visit 16.11:
Quality, School Leadership and School Autonomy
(hosted by: Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts,
Masaryk University; coordinated by: Milan Pol)
1998 - 1999
Jan Hus Educational Foundation, program Cursus Innovati:
Project Application of Methods of Critical Thinking in Contemporary
Formal Education
(member of Palacký University project team: Petr Novotný)
Vzd?lávací nadace Jana Husa, program Cursus Innovati
1997-1998
Phare, Grant CZ 9405-01-03-01
Czech Education and Europe
(member of the project team: Milan Pol)
1997
Tempus Phare: project CME 2031-96
Design of the Teacher Retraining Structure in the Czech
Republic
(contributor to project work by Palacký University project team: Petr
Novotný)
Development projects
2003
University Development Fund, reg. No. 2146:
Education in Media in the Family
(project manager Klára Še?ová; Martin Skutil since October 2003)
2000 - 2001
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, grant L/88
Advancing Material Equipment of J. A. Comenius Laboratory,
Department of Pedagogical Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk
University, Brno
(project manager: Jirí Zounek; team members: Petr Novotný, Milada
Rabušicová)
Ministry of Education, Youth and Science of the Czech Republic, grant
No. L/88