Brief Outline of the Austrian Education System

History

The origins of the Austrian school system go back to the Josephinium era when the government started to view education as political concern instead of leaving it to the Church and the individual municipalities. Thus, in 1774 the "School Edict for all German Regular, Main and Trivial Schools in all Imperial and Royal Dominions" [Allgemeine Schulordnung für die deutschen Normal-, Haupt- und Trivialschulen in sämtlichen k.k. Erblanden] was passed. The credit for this edict mainly goes to the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa who wanted to fight illiteracy. Lack of financial means, however, resulted in the fact that the country only saw the setting up of a mere 500 new schools.

Universities finally lost their autonomous status and became government-controlled just as teachers started to get paid by the government. Being subject to a severe censorship upon liberal ideas and heretical opinions especially during the days of Counter-Reformation clerical teachers had to give way to secular ones.

Following an act in 1867 which provided for academic freedom in science and teaching, the Imperial Primary Schools Act which is still of quite some relevance to the Austrian system was passed in 1869. Ever since then the objectives of school education have been clearly defined, i.e. to provide all children irrespective of their gender, their social situation, their origin or their denomination with the best possible education and a variety of educational opportunities.

After World War I another crucial reform was initiated in Vienna which advocated a form of teaching adapted to the mentality of the child rather than imposed arbitrarily by adult authority.

The Federal Constitution Act I [Bundesverfassungsgesetz I] of 1920, which has been amended several times since then and which states that school legislation and implementation thereof rests with the federal government, also dates back to these days.

School Legislation

School legislation at the federal level (save universities) may only be amended by a two-thirds majority of the National Council with at least half of the members present.

Laws and decrees regulating school life and school education are drawn up in co-operation with the social partners. The Austrian system of economic and social partnership is based on a voluntary co-operation of legal interest groups such as the employers' (Economic Chamber), the employees' (Chamber of Labour) and the agriculture's (Presidential Conference of the Chamber of Agriculture) as well as voluntary interest groups such as the Federation of Austrian Industrialists and the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions, and members of the government.

Outline of the Most Important Federal Laws*

• 1962 School Organization Act [Schulorganisationsgesetz]
  The main concerns were to provide educational opportunities for all kinds of interests and abilities and to provide for higher permeability of the education system (including the second educational pathway) as well as for a reorganization of teacher training and for a uniform basis for the education system (save schools and colleges for agriculture and forestry and universities).
  Moreover, it provided for unlimited and free-of-charge access to all levels of public schools and for co-education in all public schools. Finally it also contains provisions on curricula regulations and pilot projects.
• 1962 Federal School Inspectorate Act [Bundes-Schulaufsichtsgesetz]
  This act regulates the jurisdiction and the stages of appeal concerning the supervision and inspection of schools.
• 1985 Compulsory Education Act [Schulpflichtgesetz] (see chapter 1)
• 1985 School Lessons Act [Schulzeitgesetz]
  This act specifies the number of lessons per week for the individual school types governed by the School Organization Act.
• 1962 Private Schools Act [Privatschulgesetz]
• 1949 Religious Education Act [Religionsunterrichtsgesetz]
• 1955 School Maintenance Act [Schulerhaltungsrecht]
• 1959 Minorities School Act for the Province of Carinthia [Minderheiten-Schulgesetz für Kärnten]
• 1994 Minorities School Act for the Province of Burgenland [Minderheiten-Schulgesetz für Burgenland]
• 1974 School Education Act [Schulunterrichtsgesetz]
  This act regulates the internal organization of the Austrian education system and provides for the right of teachers, parents and pupils to participate in decision-making processes in schools. Furthermore, it contains provisions on the admission to schools, on entrance exams and aptitude tests, on teaching and assessment matters, on the transfer to and repetition of a grade, on the maximum length and completion of school attendance, on the "Reifeprüfung"- and TVE-Exam, on final exams, on school regulations, on the functions of teachers, on teacher meetings, on the relationship school-pupil, school-parents, school-teacher, on the extended school community, on school physicians, on procedure regulations and on final regulations.
• 1990 Pupils' Representation Act [Schülervertretungsgesetz]
• 1997 School Education Act for People under Employment [Schulunterrichtsgesetz für Berufstätige]
• 1997 "Reifeprüfung"- and TVE-Exam Act [Berufsreifeprüfungsgesetz]

* (Dates referring to the original version, amendments have been made in most cases, though)

The Federal Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs

The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture divided into seveeral DGs, these are sub-divided into divisions which are again sub-divided into departments.

Legislative matters of school administration which are the province of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture rest with the staff of the DGs:

Training of teachers and non-teaching supervisory staff, matters concerning school premises and school maintenance, matters of curricula development concerning the various school types (decrees drawn up in co-operation with the social partners), pedagogical and technical matters, further training and education of teachers, international co-operation activities, EU matters, school development and educational research, environmental and health education, recognition of foreign exams and degrees, educational counselling, matters concerning the location and equipment of colleges as well as state schools, legal and other matters of school legislation and organization as well as staff matters.

The Federal School Authorities within the Individual Provinces

Certain regulation and the implementation of laws may, however, be delegated to the individual provincial governments. These tasks are taken over by the federal school authorities within the individual provinces, i.e. the Regional Education Board at provincial level and the District Education Board at the level of the political districts.

There are special committees whose members which have to include representatives of parents and teachers are appointed by the federal government.

The proportion of votes held by the individual members depends on the seats of the individual political parties represented in the provincial parliaments or on the number of votes these parties have won in the last elections for the provincial parliaments at district level.

In addition to that, there are members in advisory functions (representatives of recognized churches and denominations, the head of the Regional School Board, regional school inspectors and representatives of legal interest groups).

The committee is headed by the president of the respective Regional Education Board. This function rests with the respective provincial governors who may, however, charge an administrative president with the management. This administrative president takes over all tasks and responsibilities the president does not reserve for himself. In some provinces the Regional Education Board also functions as the official employer of teachers. The District Education Board in turn is presided by the head of the respective district administrative authority.

Responsibilities of the Regional Education Board

The Regional Education Board is responsible for the structure, organization and remuneration of its members.

Depending on the respective provincial legislation, teachers and public schools either fall into the province of the Regional Education Board or the provincial government.

Moreover, the Regional Education Board has a say concerning appointments and is the official employer of all teachers at public compulsory schools.

In addition to that, the Regional Education Board issues decrees and general regulations on the structure, organization, setting up and maintenance as well as on the closing down of schools providing general education (save training schools of post-secondary colleges for teacher training) and so on.

Federal Administration and Supervision of Schools

All other public schools (save universities) fall into the province of the federal government, there are, however, deviations concerning certain areas of responsibility for schools and colleges of agriculture and forestry.

Moreover, the federal government also meets the costs for the salaries of teachers at public schools and for teachers at private schools established under public law.

Administrative and supervisory functions are taken over by the Federal Minister of Education, Science and Culture, the Regional Education Boards and the District Education Boards.

Depending on the school type there are three stages of appeal:

• 1st stage of appeal
  for compulsory schools providing general education: District Education Board, for part-time vocational schools and other secondary schools and colleges: Regional Education Board, for centralized educational institutions, post-secondary colleges for teacher training and post-secondary colleges for the training of vocational teachers: Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
• 2nd stage of appeal
  for compulsory schools providing general education: Regional Education Board,
  for part-time vocational schools, secondary technical and vocational schools and colleges (save centralized educational institutions), post-secondary colleges for social work, post-secondary colleges for teacher training and post-secondary colleges for the training of vocational teachers: Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
• 3rd stage of appeal
  for all schools: Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Geändert am 26.02.2007