Teacher training - basic and specialist teacher training - Austria

Teacher Training

The training of early intervention teachers is provided in most Austrian provinces by NGOs in the form of further training. Two of these associations offer this training as a university course.

The training is based on a uniform curriculum (about 1,440 lessons), and has to be financed privately in most cases. Some provinces provide co-financing for this training. Some types of disabilities (e.g. sensory disabilities) also require specific training in addition to the general training of early intervention, for example, in the field of pedagogies for visually disabled persons.

After the eighth grade, those who wish to become kindergarten teachers can study at special schools of kindergarten education for five years, after which they graduate with a high school diploma and the kindergarten teacher qualification. Colleges at institutions of kindergarten education provide a 4-semester course for graduates of schools of higher education who also graduate with the kindergarten teacher qualification. 

Apart from the training as a kindergarten teacher, a qualification as an educator in nurseries, or – as a pilot project since 1999 – a profound training of early intervention (which especially prepares graduates for working with under-three-year-olds) can also be acquired.

The four-semester course of kindergarten education at schools of kindergarten education comprises up to 24 lessons per week; students graduate after a diploma exam for kindergarten teachers in special needs education and early intervention. There are courses of study for persons who work in the last five to six semesters. In some provinces, training courses on special needs education in kindergarten are provided every two years.

Starting in October 2007, the training of teachers for compulsory schools of general education and occupational schools is to be provided at teacher training colleges. Study programmes for teachers at primary, lower secondary, pre-vocational and special schools, and vocational schools provide scholarly well-founded and job and practice-oriented training. 

In the framework of initial and in-service training, teachers can gain additional qualifications and attend subject and topic-specific courses to gain more insight into an area of speciality. 

Moreover, teacher training colleges have the task of pursuing occupational and application-oriented research.

Apart from research and training, teacher training colleges also have the opportunity to co-operate with other institutions of research and education, such as universities and universities of applied sciences at home or abroad in order to create the appropriate curricula and courses to provide the best possible offer for students. 

Source:

http://www.bmukk.gv.at/schulen/bw/bbs/ba_kindergartenpaedagogik.xml

Teacher Training and In-service Training of Compulsory School Teachers

The six-semester university study courses comprise a workload of 180 ECTS; students graduate as teachers for one of the four types of compulsory schools in the area of general education (primary school, lower secondary school, special school, and pre-vocational school). Students graduate with the degree ‘Bachelor of Education’. 

Since 2001, teachers have been required to accomplish further training of 15 lessons per year. Courses can be provided by the teacher training colleges, in-school, regionally or supra regionally. Teachers can attend further training free of charge. It is funded by the federal government and the provinces.

Initial and Further Training of Special School Teachers

a) Training at teacher training colleges to obtain the special school teacher qualification: the studies for special school teachers comprise the field of special education with the focus on inclusive education. Apart from courses dealing with aspects of human sciences, didactics, school-related and complementary studies, modular courses with a focus on disabilities are provided.

b) Training programmes provided across provinces for teachers are in-service programmes to convey methodical and special educational competences (for example, for children with hearing disabilities or deaf children, children with physical, visual or behavioural disabilities). 

During further training, the teacher training colleges provide regional and supra- regional seminars and courses with different disability-related or topical focuses. 

In 2006 the Ministry of Education drafted a position paper on the training of special school teachers which can be downloaded in German and English from http://www.cisonline.at/index.php?id=36&L=1 (English) or 

http://www.cisonline.at/index.php?id=36&L=de (German)