| dc.description.abstract | The Slovak education is currently experiencing a turbulent period associated with ongoing
efforts to reform the education system, under-funding of education with low teacher salaries,
overworked and feminized teaching staff, low social status of a teacher in society, problems
in the creation and distribution of current textbooks, insufficient interest in studying natural
sciences, leaving of young people to study abroad, etc. This situation is also reflected in
the training of future teachers including the geography teachers (in combination with other
subjects). The aim of this study is to provide basic information on the development of future
geography teacher education in Nitra, which has almost a 60-year tradition. Moreover,
it characterizes the current state of this education in the context of the subject field didactics
and pedagogical practice and identifies the challenges of their future preparation. Methods
of text analysis, information comparison, and statistical processing of quantitative information
were used in this study. Key findings include the dynamics of the number of graduates
from geography teaching study programs, responding to the situation in education system
and demographic decline in the population, and reduction of contact lessons at the university
leading to a reduction in the professional and didactic extent of knowledge and skills of future
teachers. The most important conclusions or recommendations as well as scientific contribution
concern the necessity to change the attitude of teachers towards the practically oriented
teaching with stronger emphasis on training students’ creativity not only through ICT, but
also using creative and critical thinking strategies. | en |
