Education

Teaching is not filling a vase, but lighting a flame. .
Montaigne

The education programmes prepare future teachers for the realities of professional life, helping them acquire the necessary skills and knowledge, but also to work out what are their strengths, weaknesses, and areas to work on. The focus is on the evolution and progression of the student. Being a teacher, just like being an artist, asks us to enter into a continuous process of searching and reflection.

Length of training 

1 year (30 credits)

Prior experience

The courses offered by the Education department are open to students who already have a masters in the relevant field.
 

Objectives

• giving students the theoretical and cultural foundation necessary to become teachers in the artistic domain;
• offer numerous practical and real-life practice (internships) to allow future teachers to feel confident and acquire a range of skills;
• develop a critical approach to their teaching practice;
• be open to different approaches and teaching methodologies;
• introduce and encourage an interest in academic research;
• foster reflection on students' own practice as artists.

Methods

Training at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles approaches a range of aspects related to teaching, with a varied programme ranging from broader general subjects, to more specific ones, and including both theory and practice.
The theory courses deal with different aspects of teaching, depending on the context (age of pupils, number of pupils, etc.) and on the specific requirements of the subject being taught:

• acquisition of knowledge about a range of theoretical approaches related to educational psychology and general teaching methods;
• acquisition of knowledge and specific techniques related to the subject being taught;
• education seminars, with the desire to allow students to explore issues more deeply, but in a practical way: giving future teachers ideas and exercises which they can use in the classroom.

Practical skills are learned and practised in two types of internship:

• observation internships in arts academies and in general education (elementary and secondary schools for music; secondary schools for drama);
• practical internships in arts academies where the focus is on the development and progression of the student-teacher.

Future prospects 

The training in education at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles can lead to two final qualifications : the AESS, or "Agrégation de l’Enseignement secondaire supérieur" (state teaching qualification) in music or in theatre, and the Education Masters, in music only. 
Both of these diplomas qualify students to teach in the arts academies of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, as well as teaching their subject in primary or secondary schools.
The AESS is principally an accepted teaching qualification for Belgium. The Education masters is an accepted teaching qualification in Belgium and can also make it easier to access jobs abroad, particularly in other countries within the European Economic Area (member states of the EU, as well as Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland). Nonetheless, each country reserves the right to specify which teaching qualifications they accept, depending on the qualification or amount of experience.

Entrance requirements

The AESS is open to everyone who has a Masters degree in music or theatre, (from another Arts College in Belgium; or for applicants who have applied and been given offical 'equivalence' of their degree if it was acquired abroad). Access to this programme is also subject to passing a preliminary French language test organised by the Federation Wallonia-Brussels.

The Education Masters consists of 120 credits, including 30 credits of pedagogy, and is only available within the music department. The Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles offers the Education Masters as deferrred training, for students who gained a Masters in music from the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles. The 30 teaching credits are identical to the 30 credits of the AESS state teaching qualification.