Urgent Need for Reform in Elementary Education in Austria: Challenges and Calls for Action

The educational journey of the youngest children and future generations begins in kindergartens and after-school care centers. It is not for nothing that these first stages in the children’s lives have the resounding name “elementary educational institutions”. One would think that this elementary, i.e. basic, education for children deserves full attention, appreciation and funding. But the problems that have existed in the country’s children’s educational institutions for many years are largely ignored. And there’s a lot to ignore here. There is a shortage of staff everywhere.

MELINDA HIEBINGER has been working as an assistant in Vienna for 23 years. Roland deRoo

“Every small improvement has to be fought hard for”

What challenges do you experience as an assistant in a kindergarten?
New challenges await every day. Up to 25 children want to be encouraged, attended to, comforted, cared for, supported and accompanied through their day with a lot of love and competence. Even if we give everything we can every day, with a higher staffing ratio, much more would be possible.

What are the most pressing issues you are seeing?
High fluctuation and a lack of permanent caregivers make everyday life unnecessarily difficult for the children.

And on a political level — why is there no real support?
I have seen so many great, originally committed colleagues change careers. Probably because every little improvement has to be fought for hard. The federal government is constantly investing, perhaps soon, in the future of our children? It’s about time.

Welcome to storage

The problem begins with the terms that are still used. “The wording has to change. Language creates reality,” explains Corinna Doppler, an elementary school teacher from Lower Austria. “We don’t do childcare, we do children’s education. There is a need for pedagogical specialists and assistants, who are equally important. Because we have parents’ most important thing in the facilities, their children.”

The announced investments of 4.5 billion euros must be concretely implemented, and a billion euros are needed annually for sustainable improvements.

Korinna Schumann, ÖGB Vice President and Federal Women’s Chairwoman

ÖGB

It is therefore not enough to just build facilities. Many people have the wrong idea about working with children. “It takes so much – including emotional intelligence. You have to be spontaneous, be flexible – the less educated people are, the more likely they are to drop out.”

A key demand of the ÖGB and the trade unions has long been a standardization of training and further education for assistants. In-service training could pave the way for training to become educators. This would lead to a higher supply of skilled workers. We also need uniform training standards throughout Austria and, of course, more money.

Ball pit or good education?

Just at the end of last year, more than 12,000 elementary education employees protested loudly for better working conditions in Vienna’s Votivpark. Korinna Schumann, ÖGB vice-president and women’s chairwoman, emphasized the urgency of paying adequately for elementary education and criticized the federal government’s previous lip service. “The announced investments of 4.5 billion euros must be concretely implemented, and an annual billion euros are needed for sustainable improvements,” demands Schumann.

RAINER ZÖCHLING has been an assistant in a kindergarten in Vienna for 12 years. Roland deRoo

“Double burden arises due to lack of staff”

What challenges do you experience as an assistant in a kindergarten?
Many. As an assistant, for example, I am increasingly exposed to a double burden because I am also entrusted with pedagogical work due to a lack of staff. There are also cleaning activities.

What are the most pressing issues you are seeing?
Certainly the double burden. This is a downward spiral. Because it results in more and more sick leaves and excessive demands on colleagues in groups that are too large. The job also needs to become more attractive again in order to attract more people to the industry. This is the only way to provide relief.

And on a political level — why is there no real support?
My feeling is that nationwide we are taking steps backwards rather than forwards. The government’s political focus is not on the social sector. This is a big mistake because working with people is
incredibly meaningful, beautiful and above all important.

The latest surveys also show: Austria invests half as much or even less in early childhood education than, for example, Scandinavian countries.

Under the current conditions, underfunded and without long-term planning and uniform training standards, there is often no time for educational work, as educator Manuel Pöttler explains: “Elementary education must not be reduced to care. We have an educational mission. At some point you’ll be at the ball pit in the furniture store and not in children’s education. So the child is having fun, but pedagogy with language exercises or swing exercises, which are essential activities, is neglected. Because there are no people there to educate.” Accordingly, the ÖGB is also calling for smaller groups, higher pay and additional support from more staff, not least in the area of ​​cleaning.

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A lot has to happen for freedom of choice

Not only do we need to improve what already exists, but we also need to expand children’s education as a whole so that parents in Austria finally have freedom of choice – especially the country’s women. You should no longer have to choose between family and work. It was only around Christmas that the Center for Administrative Research confirmed that Austria continues to lag behind in elementary education: Attendance rates for those under three are comparatively low and there are too few places for children whose parents have a full-time job. There is also a lack of staff due to unfavorable working conditions.

The 4.5 billion euros promised by the federal government will not be enough. With the money budgeted by the government, it is hardly possible to create the desired expansion of places, as investments in quality are also necessary.

Here, too, there are figures that make it clear where elementary education in Austria stands in the “educational hierarchy”: The federal government’s financial contributions to children’s education and the financing of vocational schools are at the bottom of the ranking of 13 educational institutions. Agricultural and forestry schools receive the most money.

Full-time or family?

The desired expansion of places that is compatible with parents working full time also requires additional money. From an international perspective – keyword Barcelona goals – Austria has a lot of catching up to do. The Barcelona targets are EU-wide guidelines on how many children should be in childcare in order to increase the employment of – especially – women. The Council of the EU increased its targets at the end of 2022: 45 percent of children under the age of three should take part in early childhood care, education and upbringing in 2030, according to the recommendation. For Austria, which has not even reached the old target of 33 percent, a lower target of 31.9 percent applies – and that is not achieved nationwide either. “You regularly ask yourself when the government’s marketing policy will end, because anyone who looks at the raw numbers realizes that there is more than enough to do,” says assistant Rainer Zöchling.

PETRA LEDERER lives in Tyrol and has been an elementary school teacher for 25 years.

“Nationwide solutions are needed here”

What challenges do you experience as a teacher in a kindergarten? Basically there is a lack of staff everywhere. Fortunately, I work in a facility where staffing shortages are being addressed, but it is clear that improvements cannot come from individual facilities. Nationwide solutions are needed here.

What are the most pressing issues you are seeing?
It can happen, among other things, that you have a guilty conscience in the evening because the educational work and attention to the children was neglected. But if the general conditions no longer allow, nothing can be done. Things get particularly intense in the fall, when someone is often sick.

And on a political level — why is there no real support?
Possibly because colleagues sacrifice themselves and the work runs smoothly. Unfortunately, we don’t take a closer look. This is a general topic in the social sector. Elementary education and nursing have shown in recent years that they are taking to the streets so that the government can finally get things going.

Education prevents poverty

“When a few euros are demanded for elementary education, lip service and words of comfort are quickly given. “But when things go wrong in the economic sector, billions are made available without further ado,” says Zöchling angrily. Money in elementary education is not lost money – on the contrary. “Supporting children with disabilities from an early age can make a big difference to how their lives progress into senior years. For example, whether a child becomes a self-determined adult or disappears into extremely costly individual care for the rest of his life.”

And there is another aspect: An OECD study* (2023) calculates that the annual costs caused by child poverty amount to just over one percent of gross domestic product. With this money, Austria could cover the necessary additional costs for child care and education and at the same time give families in Austria who are at risk of poverty or who are clearly poor a perspective without poverty. Namely when parents have a real choice to go to work because the children’s educational institution is just around the corner. A life without poverty would also have consequences for children: including better health and higher education in adulthood.

The ÖGB demands:

• More staff and smaller groups
• More cleaning staff
• More administrative staff to support the leaders
• Multi-professional teams with diverse specialist staff
• Uniform training and further education offensive, Austria-wide
• Fair pay and appreciation of internship times
• More money: One percent of GDP for elementary education and at least one billion annually

2024-03-12 15:09:38
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