Unterricht und Erziehung#

Education: During the time of Roman rule (15 B.C.-476 A.D.) the degree of literacy of the population in present-day Austria was so high that one can assume that systematic education was provided for at that time. In this family phase of education, teachers (mainly slaves or freedmen) and schools had only limited, supporting functions; children were mostly educated at home; education in general did not enjoy public esteem. During the time of the Migration of the Germanic Peoples (375-568) writing skills and the knowledge of Latin were all but lost again. It was due to missionary work and Christianisation that a change occurred in the 7th  century; Monasteries established as centres of pastoral care created educational institutions ( Mediaeval Schools). Schools in this monastic phase of education (8th -13th  centuries) developed into a kind of subsystem of church institutions (dioceses, monasteries, parishes); their curricula were mostly designed to provide training for ecclesiastical professions. Salzburg became a leading and influential centre of education and culture in Austria.

In the late Middle Ages (13th -15th  centuries) citizens of towns and major market towns increasingly claimed their right to education and influenced the development of schools. In this urban phase of education the religious orientation of institutional learning became less important as secular interests came to the fore, and a new type of school, where instruction was given in German ( Deutsche Schule), was created. Vienna became the centre of the educational system in Austria. At the end of the Middle Ages Austria already had a varied educational system, reaching from elementary education to university training (Vienna).

The Ottoman invasion of Eastern Austria and especially the rapid spread of Luther's Reformation, which shook the foundations of the Catholic church, up to then the institution that had mainly supported the educational system in terms of staffing and personnel, caused a disastrous decline of the educational system after 1521 within a few decades. However, neither the Catholics nor the Protestants could accept this loss of centres of higher education for long, and both denominations hastened to reorganise education and assumed a leading role in the 16th and 17th centuries. In this denominational phase of education a fundamental change in learning at school took place: whereas teaching in the Middle Ages was predominantly directed towards providing vocational training, henceforward it mainly focused on imparting attitudes; schools strove to teach religious discipline, and religion became the main subject in curricula which put the focus on classical education. In general, the newly created educational establishments caused the general level of education to rise: the Landschaftsschulen schools for the Protestant nobility, which only existed for a short time, reflected the pedagogical progress achieved in Central and Southern Germany; the new Jesuit School and Educational Organisation played a decisive role in the further development of education. In each of the present federal provinces there were institutions of higher education of good quality, and academic degrees could also be acquired at the newly founded universities of Graz (1585), Salzburg (1622) and Innsbruck (1669). At the same time, however, educational opportunities for girls declined as many convents and their schools were closed.

In the 18th century schools became a public issue; the dominating influence of the Jesuits was broken, the authority exercised by the official Catholic Church was restricted. Schools were intended to inculcate social discipline: the state wanted to legitimise and protect its powers and spheres of influence by certain behavioural patterns which were imparted and practised at school. In order to ensure education for all young persons of school age, Compulsory Education was introduced ( Allgemeine Schulordnung, 1774), and education was made subject to laws and regulations ( Maria-Theresian School Reform). In this governmental phase of education the Studienhofkommission, forerunner of the Ministry for Education, was extended to become the central planning, controlling and administrative institution, whose aim it was to gradually introduce a non-denomination school system. Literacy in Austria made great strides, which was also due to the use of coercive measures.

From the 2nd half of the 19th  century the citizens gained the power of decision regarding matters of education. Although the process of democratisation progressed only slowly, the emerging political parties soon also took a position on education, laying down their educational goals in programmes. In this party-political phase, which has lasted up to the present, education policy for the first time became the subject of the conflict between competing parties, with social objectives being the focus of interest. The Deutschliberale (German Liberals), who played a leading role at the time when the Habsburg Monarchy was on the verge of becoming a constitutional state, proved most successful: they created a performance-oriented school system (L. Hasner von Artha, Reichsvolksschulgesetz of 1869, Gymnasium, Realschule) and eliminated the influence of all religious communities. Attempts by the conservative Christian Socialist group to reorganise the educational system were thwarted by both the Social Democratic and National camps for almost a century, while on the other hand attempts by the Social Democrats (O. Gloeckel) were obstructed as well. It was not until 1962 that the educational system was extensively reorganised ( School Legislation, H. Drimmel): many liberal elements were kept, the compromise reached between the OeVP (Austrian People's Party) and SPOe (Austrian Social Democratic Party) on educational policy was largely safeguarded against changes by introducing the requirement of a two-thirds majority for educational laws. An important element in the development of education during the past 150 years has been the development of vocational training schools, which at first was mainly initiated and financed by private individuals, but was soon subsidised by the state and subjected to standards (A. Dumreicher), and which did not become uniformly structured until about the middle of the 20th  century (F. Cech). Today the number of graduates from vocational schools of higher education (BHS) is larger than that of graduates from general secondary schools of higher education (AHS). Discrimination against girls in schools of higher education and at universities has been eliminated ( Womens' Access to Higher Education, Athenaeum, Rechtsakademie fuer Frauen). Girls' schools, which grew rapidly in numbers ( Vocational Schools for Women), were also run by private school sponsors until 1938 and were only subsidised by the state. Nowadays more girls than boys attend AHS secondary schools; in vocational training schools of middle and higher education the proportion is balanced; at academies and universities woman account for about 45% (among first-year students even 50%) of all students. A striking feature is the increasing differentiation of the Austrian educational system in order to do justice to different interests and talents, although there have been numerous attempts at standardisation ( Comprehensive School). Government outlays for education have been considerable, in particular since 1945 (school construction, personnel and material costs, etc.). Today Austria has a dense network of educational institutions offering manifold opportunities for preparing for individual careers; social and gender-specific obstacles have been eliminated; access to the acquisition of the highest qualifications is possible for everyone who is sufficiently talented and willing to learn.

Literature#