The Bologna Process and Teacher Training in the Czech Republic: Opinions of Academic Staff and Students about the Two-cycle System Implementation at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague

One goal of the Bologna process is to restructure European university programs from monolithic five-year programs into two cycles, bachelor’s and master’s. In this paper, we ask academic staff (n=52) and students (n=126) at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague about their opinions on the implementation of the two-cycle system at their faculty. Nine out of ten academic staff and three out of ten students prefer the old five-year programs, arguing that the two-cycle system is not suitable for teacher training, subject courses are not sufficiently linked with teaching courses and that bachelor’s graduates cannot find jobs at schools. Students tend to prefer the two-cycle system, mostly because they get the bachelor’s degree. Our results can be used as empirical evidence in discussion about possible changes of teacher training programs.