Education
Characteristics of the Studies
The doctoral studies are conceived as a preparatory programme for scholars and researchers whose creative endeavours contribute to the development of theory and research in the field of education sciences. The programme aims preferably to enhance their relevant expertise, to disseminate relevant research findings and trends in the field of education and tocultivate methodological competences of doctoral students.
General focus of the study programme offers students the chance to get acquainted more deeply with the pedagogical disciplines. The focal point of the doctoral study is a doctoral dissertation/thesis, defined as an original scholarly work whose findings enrich the respective field of study within the broader context of developing the discipline.
Individual Study Plan (ISP)
Ph.D. student in the cooperation with his/her supervisor draws up the ISP where the student plans and specifies study obligations. The main accent will be put on the controlled self-study and on the individual scientific-research activities. The ISP, approved by the Doctoral (Subject Area) Board, includes: compulsory subjects, study obligations, other obligations and recommended activities. It has to include the planned terms of exams and the time line of the work on the dissertation.
Obligations for student:
the ISP has to be submitted no later than two months after the start of study
the Report on fulfilling of the study plan has to be submitted after the end of each academic year, no later than the end of September
Compulsory subjects finished by examination:
1 subject of Methodology
3 subjects from the proposition of the field of study of Education
Study obligations with the output: confirmation of the fulfilment of the study obligation:
The work on the extended annotation of the dissertation and its submission at the end of the first year of study
The offer of subjects and seminars relevant for particular categories
Other obligations which the student has to satisfy during the studies:
Conference activities - at least three participations; the active participation at 1 conference in the residential country – the programme and the abstract of the paper in English have to be submitted; and the active participation at 2 international scientific conferences with English as the official language - the programme and the abstract of the paper in English have to be submitted
Publication activities – minimum 3 essays in English in the scientific journal or peer-reviewed proceedings
Participation at the scientific and pedagogical activities of the training workplace
Study obligations
Course title: Comparative Education OD0133013
Lecturer: prof. PhDr. Eliška Walterová, CSc.
Contact details: telephone: 221 900 530, email: eliska.walterova@pedf.cuni.cz
Venue: Institute for Research and Development of Education, Charles University – Myslíkova 7, Prague 1
Dates: TBC
Course structure: 25 lessons
Course completion: The course will conclude with an examination and discussion on the topic of the seminar paper.
Objectives: To deepen the theoretical and methodological foundations of comparative education, and to understand the historical and contemporary contexts, processes, strategies and trends in the development of education around the world and, particularly, in Europe. To provide an introduction to the study of various types of educational systems and to improve the skills necessary for working with international databases, to critically reflect and to analyse the educational systems from a comparative perspective.
Content:
Research field, structure and functions of comparative education. Types and methods of comparative studies.
Development of comparative education and international studies, comparative education in different regions of the world.
Globalization as a context for the development of comparative education, global issues and consequences of globalization in education.
Global actors (UNESCO, OECD, World Bank, EU) and the international association (WCCES), their contribution and influence on educational policy.
Cultural and typological differences in educational systems, tools of comparison (ISCED 2011, quality indicators).
Education in Europe, European value paradigm, integration process as a context of education.
Cultural identity, languages and language policy, minority education, language teaching in Europe.
Education policy of the EU, priorities and principles, forming a common European education area.
Trends and selected issues in educational systems, specific aspects of the transformation of education.
Recommended reading:
Bray, M.; Adamson, B.; Mason, M. (Eds.) Comparative Education Research. Approaches and Methods. Hong Kong: Springer, 2007.
Dale, R.; Robertson, S. (Eds.) Globalisation and Europeisation in Education. Symposium Books: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Hörner, W.; Döbert, H.; Kopp, B.von; Mitter, W. The Education Systems of Europe. Dordrecht: Springer, 2007.
Course title: Quantitative Research Methods in Education OD0133014
Lecturer: PhDr. David Greger, Ph.D.
contact details: telephone: 221 900 528, email: david.greger@pedf.cuni.cz
Venue: Institute for Research and Development of Education, Charles University – Myslíkova 7, Prague 1, classroom M209
Form and structure of instruction: 5 sessions + distance learning and performing tasks in the Moodle e learning environment.
Course objectives: This course will introduce the students to the basics of quantitative research methods in education, and more broadly in social sciences. The students will be presented with the most common errors in the creation, analysis and interpretation of data from questionnaires, based on specific examples of educational research. Other quantitative research methods (e.g. observation, experiment, semantic differential) will be discussed on an individual basis with the students interested in their use. The students will also be presented with the available paid collections of e-resources (EBSCO, Proquest, JSTOR, Willey InterScience e-journals, Science Direct, Sage fulltexts, ERIC) and their use in formulating research problems and the design of questionnaires. The course aims to introduce doctoral students to the practical aspects of the preparation, implementation and analysis of quantitative research. The practical demonstrations will also contain a basic introduction to the statistical processing of research data (with a demonstration of processing using the SPSS statistical software), including multivariate methods; however, an introduction to statistics is neither the aim nor the content of the course. The students will design their own research tools and carry out their own pilot studies. Both in personal meetings and in the e-learning environment, the course participants will hold a systematic discourse about their research experience, which will culminate in a final conference.
Topics:
1. Logic, benefits and limitations of quantitative research (compared with qualitative research), quantitative research designs, formulation of research questions and hypotheses, reviewing literature.
2. Representativeness (concepts of sample, population, etc.), types of probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling techniques, selection error and response rates – concrete examples and demonstrations of sampling techniques typical for educational settings.
3. Designing the questionnaire (the role of theory, retrieval of research information, use of standardized scales and questionnaires), construction and structure of questionnaires, formulation of questions, order of questions.
4. Thinking beyond the horizon of individual questions – using summative rating scales, reliability and validity of summary indices.
5. Possibilities of the pilot study and its evaluation, questionnaire adjustment and choice of data collection methods, data file preparation, data cleansing, data analysis and interpretation.
Readings:
Creswell, J. W. Educational Research: Planning, Conductiong, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research.2nd edition. New Persey: Pearson, 2005
Krathwohl, D.R. Methods of Educational and Social Science Research. An Integrated Approach. 2nd edition. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2004.
Saris, W.E. & Gallhofer, I.N. Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Course title: Sociology of Education OD0133015
PhDr. David Greger, Ph.D. contact details: telephone: 221 900 528, email: david.greger@pedf.cuni.cz,
doc. RNDr. Jana Straková, Ph.D., contact details: telephone: 221 900 526, email jana.strakova@pedf.cuni.cz
Course structure: 25 lessons (5 five-lesson sessions)
Objectives: This course will introduce the students to the basic theories of sociology of education and findings of major sociological research on education. The emphasis will be on understanding the relationship between education (as a process and as a result) and society, in both directions: how society affects the form of school education and how education may contribute to the development of society and employment of the individual. We will particularly focus on equal opportunities in education, mechanisms of reproduction of educational inequalities and the possibilities of intervention in the support of disadvantaged students.
Content:
1. Education and society – role of education for individuals and for society, political, economic and social functions of educational systems, past and present, current issues: competitiveness vs. social cohesion, preparation for labour market vs. citizenship education, globalization, individualization.
2. Theoretical approaches in sociology of education – functionalism, conflictualism, interactionism, contemporary theories and systemic approach in sociology of education, school as an institution and organization (neo-institutionalism).
3. School as an organization and institution – Neo-institutionalism and World Culture Theory and its critiques. Sociology of curriculum and the hidden curriculum; relationship of power and curriculum, organization of education (early selection, tracking/streaming.
4. Social stratification and educational inequalities – social inequalities and education, educational mobility, theory of social and cultural reproduction (P. Bourdieu, B. Bernstein), Rational Action Theory, the concept of equal opportunities in education and the theory of justice. Overview of the basic foreign and domestic research into educational inequalities. Race, ethnicity and gender in education. International and national indicators of equity in education.
5. Education of disadvantaged students – fair educational systems, positive discrimination / affirmative action – its defence and criticism, policy measures to support education of socio-culturally disadvantaged students, education of Roma.
Venue: Myslíkova 7, Prague 1 – classrooms M209 or M204
Course organization: The course will be provided in the form of block teaching, consisting of five sessions per semester. The students will be required to read the assigned English literature as preparation for the session (“readings”). The lectures and discussions will assume knowledge of the assigned readings.
Course completion: The course will conclude with an examination. The examination will be based on the discussion on the presented seminar paper dealing with a selected topic (the topic will be discussed and approved after consultation with the teachers).
Please register for the course by telephone or electronically at the IRDE office (P. Vnuková), telephone: +420221900530, email: petra.vnukova@pedf.cuni.cz.
Readings:
Arum, R., Beattie, I.R., and Ford, K. (2011) The Structure of Schooling: Readings in the Sociology of Education. (2nd Ed). Thousand Oakes, Sage.
Ballantine, J.H. (2001) The Sociology of Education. A Systemic Analysis. (5th Ed.). New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Sadownik, A.R. (2010) Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader. (2nd Ed.) New York, Routledge.
Course title: Qualitative Methods in Educational Research OD0133016
Lecturers: PhDr. Karel Starý, Ph.D.
contact details: telephone: 221 900 535, email: karel.stary@pedf.cuni.cz
Venue: Institute for Research and Development of Education, Faculty of Education, Charles University, Myslíkova 7, Prague 1, 2nd floor, classroom M209
Objectives:
Following the Introductory Theoretical-Methodological Course, the students will be introduced to the basic theoretical and methodological foundations of qualitative research. The course will specifically focus on the case study strategy, explaining the main methods of data collection – observation and interviews, including methods of making records. During the distance part of the course, the participants will conduct their own data collection. The course will also include data processing and analysis. The students will be presented with the procedures of text encoding in the software environment for qualitative analysis (MAXQDA).
Topics:
1. Characteristics of the strengths and weaknesses of the qualitative approach in comparison with quantitative research, combined research possibilities; planning process of qualitative research (objectives, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, formulation of research questions).
2. Ensuring the quality of research (credibility and validity, transferability, reliability, dependability); ethical questions and their solutions (ensuring the safety of research participants, confidentiality, informed consent).
3. Specifics of different strategies of qualitative research (grounded theory, case study, ethnographic and biographical approaches); multiple case studies of school as a concrete example of the application of one of the strategies of qualitative research.
4. Data collection methods (field notes; participant and non-participant observation; in-depth interview, focus groups; technical aspects of data collection).
5. Qualitative data analysis (transcription, various approaches to coding, using software tools; categorization and interpretation of results); writing research reports (interim records, database creation, quoting the participants’ opinions, preparation of reports for publication).
Form and structure of instruction: The instruction will be provided on the specified dates in the form of full-time block teaching and distance learning in the Moodle e-learning environment. Both in personal meetings and in the e-learning environment, the course participants will hold a systematic discourse about their research experience.
Course completion:
Presentation and discussion of the students’ own qualitative research at the final meeting.
Readings:
Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oak : Sage, 2005.
Huberman, A. M., Miles, M. B. Qualitative Data Analysis. An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oak : Sage, 1994.
Maxwell, J. A. Qualitative Research Design. An Interactive Approach. Thousand Oaks,: Sage, 1996.
Course title: Educational Evaluation and Assessment OD0133017
Lecturers: doc. RNDr. Jana Straková, Ph.D. contact details: telephone: 731 191 980, email: jana.strakova@pedf.cuni.cz
Venue: Institute for Research and Development of Education, Charles University – Myslíkova 7, Prague 1, classroom M209
Course structure: 25 lessons (5 five-lesson sessions)
Objectives: The course will introduce the students to the framework of educational evaluation and assessment at all levels of the education system. It will focus on purposes of evaluation and assessment, performance criteria and the reference standards, forms and instruments, and the use of the results. The evaluation and assessment practices and quality assurance measures will be studied from a comparative perspective. Special attention will be devoted to international assessment surveys and their impacts on curriculum and national evaluation and assessment practices.
Topics:
1. Evaluation and Assessment Framework: Overview of components of the system of educational evaluation and assessment: student assessment, teacher appraisal, school evaluation, education system evaluation. Relationships between particular components; challenges faced by developed countries with respect to educational evaluation and assessment.
2. Student assessment: Summative and formative assessments and their different formats in different countries. National assessments, national examinations, longitudinal assessments; knowledge and skills assessed; performance criteria and the reference standards; use of the results, effects for students.
3. Appraisal of teachers and school heads: Internal and external evaluation; improvement and accountability functions; performance criteria and the reference standards; instruments: e.g. classroom observation, self-evaluation, teacher portfolio, interview, student results or learning outcomes, teacher tests.
4. School evaluation: Internal and external evaluation; improvement and accountability functions; performance criteria and the reference standards; evaluation processes and evaluators; methods; use of the results; school inspectorates.
5. Education system evaluation: Approaches; objectives; responsibilities; reference standards; data sources: e.g. educational statistics, national and international student assessments, school assessments, policy reviews, ad-hoc reports commissioned on specific topics.
6. International comparative assessment surveys: History of international assessment surveys; IEA surveys, OECD PISA, adult literacy surveys, cycles of studies; assessment domains; methodology and its developments; challenges. Future perspectives; measurement of 21st century skills.
7. Quality Assurance: Quality assurance as the process through which systems try to ensure that quality is achieved and continuously improved: policies, systems, procedures and practices that are designed to achieve, maintain or enhance quality in the school sector, and that rely on an evaluation and assessment process.
Course completion: Presentation of an in-depth study of the selected topic.
Readings:
OECD. (2013). Synergies for Better Learning. An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment. Paris: OECD.
Morris, A. (2011). Student Standardized Testing: Current Practices in OECD Countries and a Literature Review, OECD Education Working Paper No. 65, OECD Publishing.
Looney, J. W. (2011). Integrating Formative and Summative Assessment: Progress Toward a Seamless System? OECD Education Working Paper No. 58, OECD Publishing.
Course title: Primary Education OD0133018
Lecturers: prof.. PaedDr. Radka Wildová,CSc.
Contact details: radka.wildova@pedf.cuni.cz; radka.wildova@pedf.cuni.cz
Course title: Comparative education on the field of preschool and primary education and teacher training OD0133019
Lecturer: prof. PaedDr.Radka Wildová,CSc.
Contact details: radka.wildova@pedf.cuni.cz
Course title: Reading literacy - theory, researches, trends of development at schools OD0133020
Lecturer: prof. PaedDr.Radka Wildová,CSc.
Contact details: radka.wildova@pedf.cuni.cz
