The development of teacher education in Austria: A historical overview

varies according to the different school types. All students in Austria have to attend compulsory education for nine years. Compulsory education is comprised of a four-year primary school (Volksschule), which is followed by either the lower cycle of an academic secondary school (Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule Unterstufe, AHS-U), or the new middle school (Neue Mittelschule, NMS) that replaced the previous version of the middle school (Hauptschule) with the school year 2015/2016. The Austrian system separates students into alternative streams at an early age, after finishing primary school, and generally the public is supportive of this policy based on the argument that it allows students to succeed in different ways (Schratz, 2012a).

Upon completing one of two lower secondary education options, students can choose to continue their studies in the upper cycle of an academic secondary school (Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule Oberstufe, AHS-O), or in a variety of vocational education and training schools.

The sections below aim to give a historical overview of teacher education in Austria, disaggregating between teacher education for primary school and middle school (Hauptschule) teachers, and teacher education for academic secondary school teachers. Although this study focuses on secondary education, it is considered significant in the case of Austria to describe the evolution of teacher education for primary and middle school teachers. This is because, until the implementation of the Teacher Education New reform in 2015/2016, teachers for lower secondary schools were educated differently, depending on the school type. Moreover, ITE is still provided by two different main providers, namely the PHs and the universities. ITE at PHs is rooted in a “seminaristic tradition” (Ecole-Normale-Tradition) with origins in former teacher seminars, provided at the upper secondary level of the education system, while ITE at university is rooted in an “academic tradition” that follows the Humboldtian principle of

“education through science” (Bildung durch Wissenschaft) and thus focuses on the study of academic disciplines (Buchberger & Seel, 1999, p. 17).

106 Teacher education for primary and middle school teachers

The roots of teacher education in Austria date back to the days of the Austrian Empire, when Empress Maria Theresia, in 1774, introduced the Allgemeine Schulordnung für die deutschen Normal-, Haupt und Trivialschulen in sämmtlichen Kayserlichen Königlichen Erbländern (School Edict for all German Regular, Main and Trivial Schools in all Imperial and Royal Dominions; Seel, 2010; Schratz, 2012b). The edict established six years of compulsory education for all children between the age of six and twelve, and regulated that future teachers for primary schools (Volksschulen) had to attend preparation courses, which lasted from three to six months (Messner, Krainz-Dürr & Fischer, 2018).

In 1869, the Imperial Law for Primary Schools (Reichvolksschulgesetz) extended compulsory education to eight years, creating eight-year public primary schools (Volksschulen), and established three-year citizens’ schools (Bürgerschulen) as an alternative and more intensive compulsory schooling for grades six to eight. In primary schools, students were taught by general classroom teachers, while teachers specialised in subjects taught at the Bürgerschulen. For the new type of schools, a new type of teacher education was necessary and, therefore, teacher education institutions (Lehrerbildungsanstalten) were established to address the needs of primary school teachers (Seel, 2010). Students older than 15 years could study to become primary school teachers at teacher education institutions which were run as schools lasting for four years. Study completion required a school leaving examination (Reifeprüfung) which did not grant access to universities, but allowed graduates to proceed with a two-year provisional school service, after which a teacher license examination (Lehrerbefähigungsprüfung) was necessary to complete teacher education (ibid.). In 1886, teacher education exams were also regulated for subject teachers working in the newly established Bürgerschulen. These exams included the knowledge of three school subjects and pedagogy, and applicants could undertake one year long exam-preparation courses offered by teacher education and other institutions, such as the Pädagogium in Vienna or colleges (ibid.).

In the years of the First Republic, between 1919 and 1934, following the end of World War I, the social democratic party with Otto Glöckel as the Minister of Education proposed the Guidelines for the Reorganisation of Teacher Education to support their idea of a comprehensive middle school for all children between the age of ten and 14 years (ibid., p.

182). The guidelines suggested that primary school students should be taught by classroom teachers, while middle- and high-school students should be taught by subject teachers. For both groups of teachers, pedagogical departments of universities were meant to provide teacher education programmes, lasting two years for general classroom teachers and four years for subject teachers. However, this proposal was rejected by the universities which argued that teacher education of primary school teachers did not need to conform to scientific criteria. The conservative government in power from 1920 also tried to reform the teacher education of lower primary school teachers, proposing the establishment of six-year teacher academies.

However, efforts to reform the system were interrupted by the accession of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 (ibid.).

After World War II, the education of primary school teachers was extended from four to five years and allowed entrance to higher education, but it was not until the School Act of 1962 when the teacher education of primary school teachers was structurally reformed. The School Act upgraded teacher education to post-secondary school level by the establishment of pedagogical academies (Pädagogische Akademien). Students who completed their matriculation exams could apply for a four-semester course in order to become primary school teachers. The education of middle school teachers was institutionalised only in 1971, when a six-semester course was introduced in the pedagogical academies, as alternative to the education of primary school teachers. Until then, the education of middle school teachers built

107 on the education of primary school teachers by attending additional professional development courses. As a consequence of institutionalising the education of middle school teachers, their status improved significantly (ibid.).

Towards the end of the 1990s, following the accession of Austria to the EU in 1995 and the launch of international comparative studies, such as TIMSS (1995), PISA (2000), and PIRLS (2001), it became evident that the education of compulsory school teachers in Austria lagged behind compared to the situation in other European countries, where teacher education took place mostly at universities or university colleges (Messner, Krainz-Dürr & Fischer, 2018;

Seel 2010). The decision to upgrade the pedagogical academies to the tertiary level found common ground in both the SPÖ and ÖVP parties, and in 1999 a transitional law (Akademie-Studiengesetz) was passed which aimed to reorganise teacher education until 2007. To prepare and facilitate the establishment of University Colleges for Teacher Education (Pädagogische Hochschulen, PHs), a planning and evaluation committee was established by both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science. The aim of the commission was to “unify teacher education on the highest level and bring it up to the constituting standards of the EU area”

(Messner, Krainz-Dürr & Fischer, p. 131). Private providers, including mainly the Catholic Church, were allowed to establish pedagogical colleges, while the law foresaw that graduates should be awarded a higher education diploma (Diplompädagoge).

In 2005, the Austrian parliament adopted the law for upgrading the pedagogical academies to university colleges (Hochschulgesetz, 2005), in the context of the broader effort to reform higher education according to Bologna standards (Schratz, 2012b, p. 94). The course duration at the PHs was defined to be six semesters for primary school teachers, middle school teachers, special education teachers, and vocational education teachers. Although the qualification of school teachers studying at PHs was raised to the Bachelor level, in accordance to the Bologna implementation, the law did not foresee the need for them to acquire a Master degree, which was a prerequisite for secondary school teachers studying at the university. Thus, the law legitimised a difference in the teacher education of compulsory school teachers, and appeared to rank the newly established colleges below the universities of applied science (Messner, Krainz-Dürr & Fischer, 2018; Schachl, 2012).

The chance to raise the PHs to an equal status with the universities by adopting the Bologna structure was missed (Felberbauer, 2009; Schachl, 2012), since PHs, until today, are only allowed to offer further education and not master-level studies. This development was also impeded by the fact that if PH teachers were awarded a Master degree their salaries would also need to increase and this was not something envisaged from the Ministry of Education at the time (Interview, AT_NPE-2). In 2007, all the pedagogical academies hitherto existing were merged into nine public and five private PHs, integrating also the Pedagogical Institutes which were responsible for teachers’ professional development. PHs became responsible for offering professional development for all teachers, including secondary school teachers of all school types.

According to Seel (2010), the 2005 higher education law did not sufficiently address the following aspects in the functioning of the PHs: (a) institutional rights; (b) research competence; and (c) quality of teaching (pp. 189-190). With regard to institutional structure, the PHs are not equal to universities and universities of applied sciences, due to the lack of an autonomous status. Moreover, the PHs traditionally had no elected collegial body to pass statutes and to elect a rector, who is instead appointed directly by the Minister of Education.

Only recently, PHs were allowed to establish a collegial body (Hochschulkollegium) and have more possibilities to develop their own statute, because of a broader political effort to bring them closer to the university structures. Moreover, the PHs have no teaching and research freedoms equivalent to universities. Although the law defines that PHs should undertake

108 research, it does not provide concrete information regarding the institutional structures or the qualifications of the staff. PHs have no established higher education academic board and there is a lack of staff with higher academic qualifications, holding a Habilitation, which is considered the academic equivalent of a full university professor. Last but not least, the quality of teaching which befits a higher education institution is not guaranteed, because approval of the course curricula passes through the relevant department of the Ministry of Education and not through a competent academic authority.

Teacher education for academic secondary school teachers

The education of teachers for academic secondary schools (Gymnasium) followed a different historical development. Dating back to the Latin schools (Lateinschule), which were reorganised by the Jesuites as Gymnasien in 1599 (ratio studiorum), teacher education was the responsibility of monasteries and religious orders (Seel, 2010, p. 191). Teachers were usually graduates of the faculty of theology, while teacher education was considered an intermediate stage for a church career. The 1776 Edict of Maria Theresia did not change this situation.

The technological and scientific developments of the 18^th and 19^th centuries required an adequate education for teachers at academic secondary schools (ibid.). With the 1849 Entwurf der Organisation der Gymnasien und Realschulen in Oesterreich (Draft of the organisation of the Gymnasien and Realschulen), a subject-specific teacher education system was officially introduced (ibid., p. 192). From 1856 onwards, academic secondary school teachers had to undertake three years of studies in faculties of philosophy, after which they were eligible to participate in teacher qualification exams (Lehrbefähigungsprüfungen) organised by the state.

Teachers could be qualified for two subjects in lower and upper secondary education or in one subject for upper secondary and two subjects for lower secondary education (ibid.). Teaching practice took place after the studies, during a probation year in an academic secondary school.

In 1882, the teacher qualification exams became the same for Gymnasien and Realschulen Concrete regulation for teacher education studies at universities came with the Verordnung über die Erwerbung der Befähigung für das Lehramt an Mittelschulen (Regulation on the acquisition of teaching qualifications in secondary schools) in 1937 (ibid., p. 193). The study duration was prolonged to eight semesters, while the number and type of courses, as well as their content, was more properly defined. Together with exams in the different subjects, an exam on pedagogical courses was introduced. The practicum phase followed the academic studies and was supervised by an experienced teacher. In 1947, the employment status of academic secondary school teachers was raised to civil servants appointed by the state (Bundeslehrer).

A significant reorganisation of teacher education for academic secondary schools took place with the Gesetz über geisteswissenschaftliche und naturwissenschaftliche Studienrichtungen (Law on social and natural science disciplines) in 1971, which came into full implementation in 1985 (ibid., p. 194). The teacher examination system existing before was replaced by academic diploma studies, which lasted for nine semesters and provided a higher education diploma (Magister), thus leading to an academic graduation. The teacher qualification exams organised by the state were abolished and universities were solely responsible for organising teacher education studies, which ended with a final exam at the university. Prospective teachers had to study in two subject-specific disciplines of their choice and to receive pedagogical training which was complemented by approximately twelve weeks of school practice. A probation year after the studies was not considered necessary, since the university diploma granted professional qualifications. However, a year-long teaching internship (Unterrichtspraktikum) was re-introduced in 1988 as the first year of service, after graduation, and was considered necessary for receiving the teaching license. The teaching

109 internship was organised by the school authority and was supervised by two experienced school teachers, one for each subject that the candidate had to teach.

With the university law (Universitätsstudiengesetz) of 1997, teacher education became an independent study programme, along with all other university study programmes, and was implemented in two study phases, each ending with a university exam (Diplomprüfung).

Specifically, teacher education combined studies in two subject-specific disciplines, subject didactics and pedagogical sciences. In addition, each study phase was complemented by school practice. The specific law was an attempt to bridge the gap between the ITE of middle school and academic secondary school teachers, because it offered the possibility for graduates of the pedagogical academies to enter into the second phase of teacher education studies at university.

However, the university law (Universitätsstudiengesetz) of 2002 amended the previous one and did not follow up the specific provision related to graduates of the pedagogical academies. The 2002 law further impeded the transfer of PH graduates to the universities, because university ITE was exempted from the Bologna structure, preserving instead the diploma structure of nine semesters without a BA exit. Thus, PH graduates who received a Bachelor of Education could not easily embark on the university diploma studies. Bologna at university ITE was implemented with the Teacher Education New reform that will be examined in detail later in this chapter. The following section contextualises Austrian teacher education policy within the EU, tracing European influences from the 1995 accession until the Lisbon Strategy in 2000.