The central topic of the master’s thesis is the concept of higher education competences, namely the competences of the students in the second cycle study program of Pedagogy at the Faculty of Arts. By referencing various authors within the pedagogical field (Medveš; Skubic Ermenc; Kotnik; Štefanc; Svetlik; Pavlin) and broader (Weinert; Gonzalez; Wagenaar; Winterton), we combined the key conclusions about the concept of competence, presented the competences through three dimensions (as a curricular concept, as an educational concept in a global context and as the base for students’ career and professional development), further explained different perspectives on the study of Pedagogy, and lastly looked at the competences expected to be acquired by future students of Pedagogy at the level of a second cycle study program.
In the empirical part, we interviewed twelve students of single and combined Pedagogy programmes and researched the extent of the interviewees’ familiarity with the competences and the way of obtaining them through their studies. We were interested in the students’ expectations upon entering the second cycle, the way they understood the role of practical training, and the extent of being informed about further career paths. The data were also collected by means of a self-assessment scale, which included the general and the subject-specific competences. The results showed that the students were not sufficiently familiar with the competences, but that they are able to evaluate and single out the competences they have gained and the expected knowledge. The students wish for a differently formulated role of practical training and the studies as well as the approaches to the study. They also emphasize the fact that the study of Pedagogy is not just a study for working in school counselling, which is why the program should also include subjects that would enable the students a possibility of selecting those that are relevant to the field of their career choice. Finally, based on the students’ comments, we presented the propositions that can be helpful for the reconstruction of master’s study programs and for further research purposes.
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