mag. prof. slov. jez. in knjiž.
magister profesor slovenskega jezika in književnosti
magistrica profesorica slovenskega jezika in književnosti
M.A.
Master of Arts
01 - Education
0114 - Teacher training with subject specialisation
5.3 - Educational sciences
Text about acceptance
During its 27th regular session, on 3 May 2011, the Council of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education – NAKVIS officially accredited the single discipline postgraduate teacher-training study programme "Slovene Language and Literature" (2nd Bologna cycle - MA), implemented by the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor, Slomškov trg 15, SI-2000 Maribor, in accordance with paragraph 7 of chapter 11 of Article 51h and chapter 7 of Article 51p of the Higher Education Act of the Republic of Slovenia (ZVis) (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 119/06 – official consolidated text, 59/07 – Scholarship Act of the Republic of Slovenia (ZŠtip), 15/08 - Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, 64/08, 86/09 and 62/2010 – Exercise of Rights to Public Funds Act of the Republic of Slovenia (ZUPJS)), and with reference to Article 56 of the valid Criteria for the Accreditation and External Evaluation of Higher Education Institutions and Study Programmes (Merila za akreditacijo in zunanjo evalvacijo visokošolskih zavodov in študijskih programov – Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 95/2010).
Advancement criteria of a study programme
In order to progress to the second year, students must complete at least 44 ECTS credits.
Criteria for completing separate parts of a study programme
The programme does not contain individual segments.
Study advancement options
Graduates of the second-cycle master’s programme can continue their studies in third-cycle programmes.
Employment possibilities
Data are mainly taken from the eVŠ portal, which currently includes data on graduates who completed their studies between 2005 and 31 December 2018. Records for students who have graduated since 2011 (the year of graduation of the first students enrolled in post-Bologna programmes) have been accessible at the Faculty of Arts since 2023.
Data are provided for 2016, 2017 and 2018, and separately for 2020, according to the criterion of overview of occupations (https://univerzamb-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/vanja_borko_um_si/EnZmEu0B0v9OmTVpuhjEQdIBvOFaQCnGQEfe1dgSA0-rbg?e=Ng4YsA).
According to figures from the ESS, more job vacancies have been advertised for this group in the last three years (2019, 2020, 2021) than in previous years. Figures are shown for the occupations of subject teacher of Slovene (lower secondary level), teacher of Slovene (upper secondary level), journalist, librarian, copy editor/proofreader and documentalist.
The qualification obtained by graduates of the programme represents outstanding potential for employment in numerous fields. The main occupations for which students of the single-subject teaching pathway of the second-cycle Slovene Language and Literature programme pursue a qualification are those of subject teacher of Slovene (lower secondary level) and teacher of Slovene (upper secondary level). In a context of migration and increasingly multicultural educational environments, demand is growing for teachers of Slovene as a second and foreign language. The pathway also offers the following employment opportunities: special needs education specialist, teacher of general education subjects at an upper secondary school, house parent in a school boarding house, teacher of Slovene to adult learners. Graduates of the single-subject teaching pathway can also be employed as copy editors/proofreaders, announcers/presenters (radio, television and other media) and journalists, working as commentators, moderators, editors or reporters. They are also employable as librarians, documentalists, social work associates and performing artists.
It is worth pointing out that the percentage of master’s programme students securing employment before completing their studies is growing steadily, reflecting increasing demand in the job market.
Other obligations
The curriculum of the single-subject teaching pathway is designed in such a way that students have units from the PDP module, which as well as general units on pedagogy, didactics and psychology, includes special didactics units directly related to Slovene language and literature and a teaching placement, in all four semesters. In these units, special didactics content, competences, aims and learning outcomes are horizontally and vertically integrated into a complete whole. Complemented by a teaching placement, they provide the necessary knowledge and practical skills for teaching work.
The compulsory units in the PDP module in the first year are: Pedagogy, Didactics, Psychology of Learning and Development, Working with Children with Special Needs, Interdisciplinary Observation Placement, Didactics of Slovene Language and Literature 1, Didactics of Slovene Language 2, Didactics of Slovene Literature 2 and Slovene Language and Literature Teaching Placement 1. The compulsory literature unit Literary Programmes and Aesthetic Concepts in Slovene Literature familiarises students with the development of Slovene literature from the nineteenth century onwards from the point of view of literary programmes and aesthetic concepts and in this way represents a basis for vertical integration with the literary history units of the second year, which address selected literary questions in greater depth or introduce new aspects to the study of literature. The School Essay unit focuses on educational practice and is horizontally and vertically integrated with other literary history units in the sense of training students to write essays on literary topics. The compulsory language unit Use of Normative Manuals in Teaching Slovene likewise focuses on practice in schools and looks at more recent views on the informativeness of normative manuals and their functional application. As such, it is vertically integrated with the language units of the second year, which involve the application of acquired knowledge to educational practices in schools. Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis, which focuses on the reality of language use and its contextualised treatment, is most closely vertically integrated with Modern Approaches in Discourse Analysis and Social Linguistics. This unit encourages the construction of critical social awareness and the development of critical thinking, which is necessary for critical reflection on texts of various types and genres and on linguistic/literary practice, and in this sense establishes horizontal and vertical connections with the other linguistic and literary units. As well as compulsory units, the first year includes pedagogical electives. In combination with the units of the PDP module, these electives lay the pedagogical-didactic-psychological foundations and create the theoretical basis for the vertical integration of content, competences, aims and learning outcomes in subsequent semesters.
The compulsory units in the PDP module in the second year are: Didactics of Slovene Language 3, Didactics of Slovene Literature 3 and Slovene Language and Literature Teaching Placement 2. The units are vertically linked to the units of the PDP module in the first year. The compulsory literature units further equip students for independent reflection on Slovene literature in the context of a selected problem area (The Contemporary Slovene Novel, Selected Chapters from Literature), including by introducing new theoretical and methodological approaches (Ecocriticism and Ecofeminism, Literature and Media). The compulsory language units are vertically integrated with the first-year language units in the sense of further familiarisation with the possibility of applying a theoretical linguistic basis in practice in the light of the aims of modern language teaching, from the point of view of lexicological questions (Selected Chapters from Slovene Lexiocology), text linguistics (Approach to the Text) and stylistic issues (Practical Stylistics), or in the sense of the contextualised treatment of linguistic variability (e.g. Social Linguistics). Alongside the compulsory units, the curriculum offers elective units, where students choose units from the groups Slovene Language Electives and Literature Elective. The elective units in these groups are horizontally and vertically integrated with the compulsory linguistic and literary units. Thus, for example, the elective unit Intercultural Communication in the Classroom is horizontally integrated with Social Linguistics, which provides understanding of fundamental sociolinguistic concepts related to intercultural communication, and vertically integrated with Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis, which provides tools for the critical study of essentialism, the construction of (ethnicised) otherness and the perpetuation of unequal relations of social power. All these units contribute complementarily to shaping a vision of fairer intercultural relations. Finally, students integrate and apply all their acquired competences in the preparation and presentation of a master’s thesis.
Assesment criteria
Criteria and methods for testing and assessing student outcomes are made publicly available and are implemented in accordance with the adopted learning programme, unit syllabuses and information on the unit. The assessment system is regulated in accordance with the Statutes of the University of Maribor and the Rules on testing and assessing knowledge at the University of Maribor. Both documents are available online at: https://www.um.si/o-univerzi/dokumentno-sredisce.
Learning outcomes are defined by syllabuses. These are made publicly available and are accessible to all. They can be consulted in the collection of programmes of study at the University of Maribor, which is aimed at students wishing to enrol (accreditation is shown for the cohort of students who will enrol in the following year), and on the Faculty of Arts website (Programmes of study | UM Faculty of Arts). The method of assessment and testing is defined in each syllabus. This means that, on the basis of the published syllabus content, students can compare or check the content and levels of knowledge associated with specific skills. Academic staff encourage continuous work and continuous testing of knowledge, in this way enabling students to maintain a constant overview of their own progress.
Students are also verbally informed about assessment criteria and methods when they begin a unit. Following analyses of pedagogical work and evaluation of the programme, appropriate amendments are made to syllabuses.
Verification of whether students are successfully meeting the requirements of the programme is done through the testing and assessment of knowledge, which is the basis on which students obtain marks and credits in individual units of the programme, allowing them to progress through the programme and move on to further studies. At the same time, it provides students with feedback on the level of knowledge they have attained.
Exam results are entered in an electronic register called the Academic Information Subsystem (AIPS). Results are entered by the exam administrator, who has access to the details of the students entered for the exam. After entering the marks for an individual exam, the exam administrator submits a signed exam report to the Student Affairs Office. This report is kept permanently and represents an official record of the institution. Students are informed of exam results as soon as they are entered and confirmed by the exam administrator, via their personal AIPS account, which they access using a username and password.
Students’ knowledge is tested in examinations, colloquia and other forms of testing and assessment, and awarded a positive or negative mark. Positive marks are “excellent” (10), “very good” (9 and 8), “good” (7) and “satisfactory” (6). Negative marks are all marks from 1 to 5.
Examination timetables are published in the publicly accessible calendar for each individual academic year (http://ff.um.si/studenti/urniki).
Lists of scheduled exam dates for individual units during the academic year are prepared by Departments and published by the Student Affairs Office in the AIPS by no later than 15 November for the current academic year.
Main study programme objectives
The primary aim of the single-subject teaching pathway of the Slovene Language and Literature programme is to produce teachers who are qualified to teach at lower secondary level (i.e. as subject teachers in the upper years of the combined primary and lower secondary school in Slovenia) and in all years at (upper) secondary schools of all types including gimnazije (general upper secondary schools). Graduates acquire a suitably broad overview of the field and, thanks to the pedagogical-didactic-psychological content of the programme, are qualified to work with students at both the lower secondary and upper secondary levels.
Through the compulsory PDP module, which includes didactics of the Slovene language and didactics of Slovene literature, the pathway teaches students to organise and plan work in the classroom, provides thorough training in interpersonal communication skills, trains them for work and duties outside the classroom (form teacher duties, mentoring, social partnership) and enables them to acquire the didactic competences required to teach their particular field. Elective language and literature units enable students to develop their knowledge of literary studies, linguistics and research methodology. Particular attention is paid to modern theoretical and methodological approaches, such as ecocriticism (a field of literary study) and, in the linguistics sphere, poststructuralist approaches including modern sociolinguistic approaches and critical discourse analysis. Elective language content trains students in intercultural communication and teaches them to address modern orthographic and orthoepic questions and incorporate language infrastructure into linguistic research and educational practice. Elective literary units train students in the independent interpretation of literary works and the connection of different interpretations of literary works to the reader’s horizon and acquaint them with the mechanisms of canonisation of literary works, including from the point of view of a rewriting of the canon that gives equal value to women authors.
The single-subject teaching pathway qualifies students above all for teaching work, important aspects of which include the application of acquired knowledge and the use of specialised literature and contemporary language sources in an educational context. The need for this pathway derives from the role and position of the teacher in the modern education system. The pathway provides a suitable range of language and literary history content relating to current topics in Slovene as it is taught at primary and secondary school and teaches students to organise and plan work in the classroom, provides thorough training in interpersonal communication skills and trains them for work and duties outside the classroom. Elective units focus more sharply on specific issues in contemporary language and literature teaching.
After completing the programme graduates have a broad overview of the field, while at the same time the pedagogical-didactic-psychological knowledge they have acquired enables them to adapt language and literature content to the relevant target group.
General competences of graduates, gained at a study programme
Graduates of the single-subject teaching pathway acquire the following general competences:
- the ability to work creatively and autonomously in their field;
- the ability to present findings and viewpoints coherently and cogently in a range of professional and public contexts;
- the ability to independently collect, interpret and use new sources of knowledge;
- the ability to read sources critically;
- the ability to use quantitative, qualitative, descriptive and inferential approaches in research;
- the ability to develop intercultural communication competence;
- the ability to plan, monitor and evaluate their own professional development;
- the ability to communicate effectively with learners and establish a stimulating learning environment;
- the ability to adapt lessons to the cognitive, social and emotional maturity of learners;
- the ability to plan, implement and evaluate the learning process;
- the ability to use modern principles, methods and techniques of testing and assessing knowledge;
- the ability to use modern information and communication technologies in teaching and other pedagogical work;
- the ability to manage a class effectively;
- the ability to connect with colleagues and the wider environment as part of a team;
- the ability to communicate effectively with parents;
- the ability to reflect critically on own teaching practice and plan own professional development;
- a capacity for ethical (self-)reflection;
- the ability to establish an inclusive learning environment;
- the ability to develop creative and critical thinking in learners.
Subject specific competences of graduates, gained on a study programme
Graduates of the single-subject teaching pathway acquire the following subject-specific competences:
- the ability to functionally apply modern linguistic and literary research methods;
- the ability to cogently present findings and viewpoints on linguistic and literary phenomena and development processes;
- the ability to study the dynamic relationship between language and social processes;
- the ability to recognise, describe and explain changes and variations of linguistic patterns in specific social contexts and circumstances;
- the ability to use modern approaches in sociolinguistics;
- the ability to assess socio-political dynamics within the context of a critical approach to discourse;
- critical literacy skills;
- the ability to apply the principles of practical stylistics;
- the ability to integrate the description and theory of text types and link them to social practice;
- the ability to make practical use of and critically evaluate normative manuals of the Slovene language;
- the ability to give an expert assessment of language policy developments and make cogent contributions to the formulation of language policy;
- the ability to plan language education in accordance with European guidelines;
- the ability to provide advice in connection with more complex language-related (normative, stylistic, variety-specific, language-policy-related) issues;
- familiarity with the mechanisms of canonisation of literary works and understanding of the processes of revising literary canons;
- the ability to independently interpret literary works and identify intertextual connections among them;
- the ability to interpret literary texts from the point of view of the realisation of literary programmes and aesthetic concepts;
- the ability to analyse a literary work from an ecocritical perspective;
- the ability to relate literature to other media, including through involvement in the adaptation of literary works for other media (film, theatre, radio, etc.);
- the ability to plan, organise and lead public (literary, cultural, specialised and other) events;
- the ability to apply theoretical linguistic and literary foundations in practice with regard to the aims of contemporary language and literature teaching in primary and secondary schools;
- the ability to functionally use language technologies and sources for the Slovene language in professional work;
- the ability to set essays that enable the adequate verification of literary abilities in secondary education;
- the ability to communicate the intercultural role of literature.
Access requirements
Enrolment in the second-cycle Slovene Language and Literature programme – pathway: Slovene Language and Literature (single-subject teaching pathway) is open to students who have completed:
1. A first-cycle study programme in a relevant field: 0232 Literature and Linguistics (Literature, Mother Tongue or First Language Programmes).
2. A first-cycle study programme in another field:
0114 Teacher Training with Subject Specialisation,
0188 Interdisciplinary Programmes and Qualifications Involving Education, particularly Education Science and Teacher Training,
0231 Language Acquisition (Second Languages, Foreign Languages, Sign Languages, Translation Programmes) (Translation, Interpreting, Foreign or Second Languages),
0232 Literature and Linguistics (Linguistics)
– provided that before enrolling in the programme the student completes course units essential for further study, totalling 12 ECTS credits. Course units essential for further study: Slovene Modernism, Expressionism and Social Realism (3 ECTS credits), Slovene Literature after 1950 (3 ECTS credits), Phonetics and Phonology (3 ECTS credits) and Morphology (3 ECTS credits). These course units may be completed during the first-cycle programme, during programmes of further study or by passing differential examinations before enrolling in the programme.
3. An academic study programme, adopted before 11 June 2004, in a relevant field: 0232 Literature and Linguistics (Literature, Mother Tongue or First Language Programmes). Such students normally have 60 ECTS credits recognised within the programme, and are admitted to the second year provided their recognised credits are sufficient to meet the conditions for transfers between programmes laid down by an accredited programme of study.
4. An academic higher education programme, adopted before 11 June 2004, in another field:
0114 Teacher Training with Subject Specialisation,
0188 Interdisciplinary Programmes and Qualifications Involving Education, particularly Education Science and Teacher Training,
0231 Language Acquisition (Second Languages, Foreign Languages, Sign Languages, Translation Programmes) (Translation, Interpreting, Foreign or Second Languages),
0232 Literature and Linguistics (Linguistics).
Such students normally have 40 ECTS credits recognised within the programme, and are admitted to the year corresponding to the number of credits recognised.
Transfer criteria between study programmes
Transfers between programmes are possible in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Criteria for Transfers between Study Programmes (UL RS 14/19).
Applicants who meet conditions for enrolment in the proposed programme and the conditions for transfer between programmes will be informed what year they may enrol in and what missing course units they must complete if they wish to conclude their studies under the new programme.
Transfers are possible between programmes:
- which guarantee the acquisition of comparable competences on completion and
- between which at least half the course units under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) from the first study programme relating to compulsory units of the second study programme may be recognised under the criteria for recognising knowledge and skills acquired prior to enrolment in the programme.
Criteria for recognition of knowledge and skills, gained before the enrolment in the study programme
Procedures for identifying, verifying and recognising knowledge and skills acquired by a student through formal or non-formal learning before enrolling in the programme (“prior learning”) are regulated pursuant to the Rules on the recognition of knowledge and skills in programmes of study at the University of Maribor (https://www.um.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Pravilnik-o-priznavanju-znanj-in-spretnosti-v-studijskih-programih-UM-st.-012-2019-2.pdf). Procedures for identifying, verifying and recognising knowledge and criteria for recognising knowledge and skills apply both to students enrolling at the University of Maribor and to already enrolled students who wish to have prior learning counted towards completion of a course unit in an existing programme.
Criteria for completing the study
Students complete the second-cycle Slovene Language and Literature programme when they have completed all prescribed course units in the single-subject teaching pathway, corresponding to at least 120 ECTS credits, and written and successfully defended a master’s thesis.