Background / Organisation

The education of music teachers in the Czech Republic is differentiated according to whom they will be teaching:

·      teachers for preparation of professional musicians;

·      teachers of music classes at elementary and secondary schools.

The former are being educated at conservatoires and music academies. There are eight conservatoires in the CR: in Prague, České Budějovice, Plzeň, Teplice, Pardubice, Brno, Kroměříž and Ostrava. Studies last six years and the graduates from these schools can teach at state or private elementary art schools. These institutions offer specialised music education to talented children, young people and, to a certain degree, adults.

Academies of Performing Arts (one in Prague, one in Brno) are elite music colleges that produce the best professional players and composers. There are programmes to train teachers for elementary art schools and conservatories (offering secondary education), and artists with a certificate in artistic education.

Music teacher training of music teachers for elementary and secondary schools is carried out at university, Faculties of Education. There are nine in the CR – in Prague, Útí nad Labem, Plzeň, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Liberec, Brno, Ostrava and Olomouc.

These universities offer the following types of music teaching programmes:

·      teaching music in primary-schools,

·      teaching music in the secondary-schools (at most of the Faculties of Education),

·      conducting children choirs and young people choirs (at most of the Faculties of Education),

·      teaching in Elementary art schools (at most of the Faculties of Education).

Students following the programmes for teaching music at elementary and secondary schools usually study one more subject (Czech language, English language, German language, History, Psychology etc.) so as to be qualified to teach this alongside Music. However, they can study Music teaching in combination with another artistic specialization – conducting, playing the piano (violin, accordion) and solo singing.

Primary and secondary schools teacher trainees study for 3 years on the Bachelor programme (artistic/music performance skills, Music theory and history) – plus 2 years Master course focusing on teaching skills and pedagogical practice. In most Music Departments’ Faculties of Education, both Bachelor and Master programmes for teaching music in Elementary Art Schools are accredited, as well as programmes for conducting choirs.

The duration of the programmes (years and semesters):

·      Bachelor programme (3 years = 6 semesters), Master programme (2 years = 4 semesters),

·      before Lisboa and the current structuring into Bachelor and Master courses, there was also a fully-fledged Master programme lasting 4 or 5 years (8 or 10 semesters).

The quota of taught hours, study programme Music Education:

·      Music teacher training Bachelor programme – a total of 741 hours (180 credits),

·      Music teacher training Master programme – a total of 325 hours (120 credits).