Austria

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Country in a nutshell

Map of Austria

Austria (German: Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienna on the Danube River.

The origins of modern Austria date back to the ninth century, when the territory of Upper and Lower Austria became increasingly populated. The name "Ostarrichi" is first documented in an official document from 996. Since then this word has developed into the Österreich.

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states and is one of six European countries that have declared permanent neutrality and one of the few countries that includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995.

Education in Country

Austrian educational system

The Republic of Austria has a free and public school system, and nine years of education are mandatory. Schools offer a series of vocational-technical and university preparatory tracks involving one to four additional years of education beyond the minimum mandatory level. The legal basis for primary and secondary education in Austria is the School Act of 1962. The federal Ministry of Education is responsible for funding and supervising primary, secondary, and, since 2000, also tertiary education. Primary and secondary education is administered on the state level by the authorities of the respective states.

Kindergarten (nursery school) is the traditional form of pre-primary education for children aged three to six in Austria. However, it does not form part of the school system. Kindergarten is optional and children attend at their parents’ initiative.

Compulsory schooling in Austria lasts nine years. It extends to all children permanently residing in Austria regardless of their nationality.

The Volksschule (Grundschule or primary school) is charged with imparting basic education for all.The social integration of children with disabilities is to be taken into account.

The Sonderschule (special school) may be attended during the entire period of compulsory schooling (age 6 to 15) and consists of levels I and II, as well as an upper-cycle form. Pupils/students with special educational needs may be educated either in a special school geared to their disablement or in inclusive classes at primary schools, Hauptschule (general secondary school) or the lower cycle of Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule (academic secondary school).

In secondary stage I (years 5 to 8) a first differentiation takes place at the organisational level comprising the following school types:

• Hauptschule (general secondary school);
• Neue Mittelschule (new secondary school, pilot schools);
• Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule (academic secondary school, lower cycle).

In secondary stage II (years 9 to 13) a further differentiation takes place depending on students’ talents and interests:

• Polytechnische Schule (pre-vocational school; is used as ninth school year by those students aged 14-15 who aim to enter working life as soon as they have completed compulsory schooling);
• Berufsschule (part-time compulsory vocational school, years 10 to 13 at maximum) – parallel to in-company vocational training ('dual system'). A requirement for starting apprenticeship training is completion of nine years of compulsory schooling; apprentices are at least 15 years old;
• Berufsbildende mittlere Schulen (medium level technical and vocational schools, years 9 to 12 at maximum);
• Berufsbildende höhere Schulen (higher level technical and vocational schools, years 9 to 13);
• Oberstufe der Allgemeinbildenden höheren Schule (academic secondary school, upper cycle, years 9 to 12).

In addition to the eight-year type of academic secondary school, there is the Oberstufenrealgymnasium, which is a separate type of upper level academic secondary school (years 9 to 12; entered on completion of eight years of general education).

• Bildungsanstalten für Sozialpädagogik and Bildungsanstalten für Kindergartenpädagogik (training schools for educators and for kindergarten teachers, years 9 to 13);
• Schools and other training programmes for health professions.

In the tertiary sector there are the following training institutions:

• Medizinisch-technische Akademien (paramedical college) and Hebammenakademien (midwifery college) (Full-time training at one of these colleges lasts three years). Since 2006, some Fachhochschulen (universities of applied sciences) have provided bachelor’s degree programmes for paramedic practice and midwifery;
• Universities and accredited private universities;
• Fachhochschulen (universities of applied sciences);
• Pädagogische Hochschulen (university colleges of teacher education).

Administration and finance

Schools

Administration and responsibilities

The Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture (http://www.bmukk.gv.at/) is the supreme supervisory body for the whole of primary and secondary education, which includes academic secondary schools and technical and vocational schools, as well as colleges of teacher education. The work experience part of initial vocational education is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth (http://www.bmwfj.gv.at/). As is the case with government administration in general, responsibilities for legislation and implementation in school education are split between federal and provincial governments. This split is based on the principles outlined below:

• The federal government has exclusive responsibility for legislation and implementation: this applies particularly to the entire field of academic secondary education (secondary levels I and II), but also to medium level and higher level technical and vocational schools (secondary level II), training schools for educators and training schools for kindergarten teachers, and to the conditions of service and staff representation of teachers at these schools.

The federal government is responsible for legislation, whereas the provinces are responsible for implementation: this applies, among others, to the conditions of service and staff representation of teachers at public compulsory schools.

• The federal government is responsible for fundamental legislation, while the provinces are responsible for issuing and implementing by-laws: this particularly applies to the organisational structure of federal education authorities or the external organisation of public compulsory schools. The term ‘external organisation’ refers to the development, construction, maintenance and closing of schools, but also to the fixing of pupil numbers per class and teaching periods. All fundamental legislation is in the nature of a framework which has to be filled in by implementing by-laws promulgated by the respective provincial parliaments, the legislative bodies at provincial level.
• The provinces are responsible for legislation and implementation as, for example, with regard to kindergartens.

Separate federal bodies have been established wherever the federal government is responsible for implementation. These are:

• Bezirksschulräte (district school boards) at the level of political districts;
• Landesschulräte (provincial school boards) at the level of the provinces; and
• the Federal Minister for all of Austria.

Customarily the federal government introduces draft laws as government bills in the Nationalrat (National Council). Such a draft produced by the Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture will first have been submitted to a number of relevant authorities (collegiate councils in the district and provincial school boards, provincial governments, various interest groups, churches, etc.) for an expert opinion. Fundamental laws enacted by the federal government will normally prescribe a deadline by which the provinces must issue the necessary implementing laws (six months to one year). These implementing laws are passed by the provincial governments. More detailed provisions are contained in the individual provincial constitutions. Austria’s education system is characterised by a well developed system of school inspection. Federal school authorities in the provinces are responsible for primary and secondary education (district school boards, provincial school boards). At the level of the provinces, school inspection is carried out by provincial school inspectors who are responsible for specific school types. At compulsory school level, provincial school inspectors are assisted by district school inspectors, and in medium and higher-level secondary education by subject inspectors. In addition to the inspection of individual schools, the school inspectorate also performs comprehensive functions across schools. At district level, this especially refers to regional educational planning. Regional educational planning aims to ensure

• a diversity and balance of educational options,
• comparability of educational options,
• school and instruction planning oriented towards quality,
• personnel and organisational development,
• providing the schools with personnel and material resources,
• infrastructure for school development counselling and in-service training for teachers.

In the academic year 1993/94 Schulautonomie (school autonomy) entered the mainstream education system. Flexibility of Austrian schools has gradually increased since and was put on a new legal basis. (The following applies only to a limited extent to years 1 to 4 of primary schools, with only two weekly lessons and optional exercises under school autonomy.) Individual schools are now allowed to decide certain school matters independently. A school may develop a certain profile, e.g. by specialising in foreign languages, ecology, intercultural focal points, information technology or generally by extending or supplementing curricular content.

Finance

Schools of compulsory education (primary schools, general secondary schools, special schools, pre-vocational schools and vocational schools) are maintained by the provinces, municipalities or municipal associations. While most of the schools in general compulsory education are maintained by municipalities or municipal associations, part-time compulsory vocational schools are maintained by the provinces. Maintaining and operating a school includes the establishment, maintenance and repair of the school buildings, payment of overheads, purchase of equipment and teaching aids, provisions for the school doctor, and the employment of the necessary auxiliary staff (caretakers, maintenance staff, etc.). The employment of teachers at compulsory schools is exclusively the responsibility of the provinces. Teachers in public sector schools of compulsory education are employed by the provinces, which pay the cost of their salaries. However, the provinces are fully compensated for this cost by the Federation in the process of fiscal adjustment. (The sole exception being teachers at compulsory vocational schools, where this refund is granted only up to 50 %.) Public sector schools of compulsory education are not allowed to charge tuition fees. Transport to and from school using public transport facilities is free. Textbooks are provided to pupils free of charge, and they are entitled to keep them. In recent years, a contribution of 10 % from the pupils has been introduced both for transport to and from school and for textbooks. Medium level and higher secondary schools are established and maintained by the Federation, which bears the full cost, including teachers' salaries. Teachers do not enter into an employment contract with the school in this case either, but with the Federation. The same is true for medium level and higher secondary schools with respect to the absence of tuition fees, free transport and textbooks as for compulsory education. In 1996 the legal basis for extending the financial autonomy of schools was established. On certain conditions laid down by law, schools can rent out school rooms or parts of school property (e.g. gymnasium or sports grounds) to third parties and allocate the respective income at their own discretion as long as it is used for school purposes. The same applies to external funding received from sponsoring or commercial activities at school. Since 1998 federal schools have been entitled to establish quasi legal bodies which are authorised to perform certain activities in their own name (e.g. organisation and staging of certain events for third parties).

Austrian schools may, in a limited way, also choose how to use the funds allocated to them by the school authorities. For medium and higher level technical and vocational schools this can facilitate the procurement of computers and technical equipment (financial autonomy). This makes it easier to implement occupation-oriented forms of education centred on students (e.g. training firms).

Quality assurance

Schools

The Federal Institute for Research on Education, Innovation and Development of the Austrian School System (Bundesinstitut für Bildungsforschung, Innovation und Entwicklung des österreichischen Schulwesens, BIFIE) is responsible for the following areas:

• Applied research on education,
• Education monitoring,
• Quality development,
• Regular reports on Austrian education.

In addition, the BIFIE is responsible for advising, on the basis of evidence collected, the decision-makers of Austrian education policy (http://www.bifie.at). The BIFIE is headquartered in Salzburg where it focuses on education monitoring and education standards. The Salzburg centre mainly conducts international assessments such as PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS, etc. and reviews education standards. Furthermore the BIFIE’s central service areas, i.e. the central management and the centre for data management and statistics, are located in Salzburg. The Graz location mainly deals with educational research and evaluation, carrying out specific projects such as the evaluation of the ‘new secondary school’ and research-based projects on topics such as ‘early language support’. The BIFIE Vienna location (‘innovation & quality development’) concentrates particularly on the development and implementation of innovations in the school area. Model projects are the development and implementation of a standardised Reifeprüfung (matriculation examination) and further development and implementation of education standards. Tasks are coordinated between the Ministry for Education and BIFIE based on a revolving three-year plan. A two-member board of management, a nine-member supervisory board and the scientific board consisting of renowned Austrian and international scientists and scholars are the bodies of the BIFIE, which is a legal entity under public law.

References

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