Assessment / Examination

The educational qualification required for entering the Music teacher training programme is a Diploma or a Bachelor’s degree achieved in a conservatory of music plus a diploma achieved in upper secondary school. A musicology degree is also accepted. Entrance exams have to be passed, according to the type of programme; for general music teacher training candidates need to pass written and oral exams, whilst for an instrumental teacher training programme, candidates need to pass musical performance and oral exams. Their acceptance is based on previous qualifications, the entrance exams and on teaching experience and their curriculum vitae.

In terms of assessment, the students have to pass an exam at the end of each course. Exams may be written or oral and for instrumental teachers they might involve musical performance. The criteria set for assessing teaching ability are set by a board made up of all the teachers involved in the programme: the supervisor for the school training (usually a teacher at a music oriented middle school), the tutor and the course coordinator. The board of examiners for each course is made up of the teacher of the course, another teacher and the director of the institution. In the final examination the board of examiners consists of two teachers, the director, the supervisor and a representative from the Ministry of Education. A teacher becomes fully qualified after passing the final exam of the programme. However, in order to be employed by the Ministry of Education and to teach in public schools, each teacher is assessed by a special board at the end of their first year of teaching in school. The university and college do not provide any further in-service training for teachers.

The final thesis in which all music teachers are assessed is based on their teaching practice; the final examination also involves the formulation of a teaching project for music teachers or performance on one’s own instrument, and conducting an ensemble for instrumental music teachers.