!!!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 7%%sup th/% century; Monasteries
established as centres of pastoral care created educational
institutions ( Mediaeval Schools). Schools in this monastic phase of
education (8%%sup th/% -13%%sup th/% 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.
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In the late Middle Ages (13%%sup th/% -15%%sup th/% 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).
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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 16%%sup th/% and 17%%sup th/% 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.
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In the 18%%sup th/% 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.
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From the 2%%sup nd/% half of the 19%%sup th/% 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
20%%sup th/% 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
H. Engelbrecht, Geschichte des oesterreichischen
Bildungswesens, vols. 1-5, 1982-1988; idem, Bemerkungen zur
Periodisierung der oesterreichischen Bildungsgeschichte, in: Zur
Geschichte des oesterreichischen Bildungswesens, published by E.
Lechner et al., 1992; idem, Erziehung und Unterricht im Bild,
1995.
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