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Conference
2008 Safe
Internet Use
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Highlights
of previous SSBA conferences :-
2007 Developing a
Parent Council and Encouraging Parental Involvement
2006 The Way Forward
for Parental Involvement
2005 Parents in
Partnership
2003 Partnerships and
responsibilities
2002 SSBA is fit for
the future
2001 Roadshow
2000 International
and published book
available here online
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Conference 2000Austria
Representing Parents in School Decision
Making in Austria
1.1
Political framework
Compared
to other countries the Austrian educational system
presents a particularly high density of regulations
– a fact which is reflected in the strongly
hierarchically-structured bureaucracy of the school
system. Various control mechanisms are effective at
each level – whether it be the federal ministry,
the provincial- or regional-boards of education or
the individual schools. The second factor which
increases this tendency towards centralisation is the
deeply-rooted historical, party-political structure
of the educational system. The authority of the
bureaucratic hierarchy is strongly
‘inter-twined’ with the authority of
party-political structures. This centralised
regulation also controls the subject matter, which is
determined by federal stipulations concerning
curricula - and text-books and teaching manuals which
must be state-approved – a situation which
leaves little scope for the individual schools and
the people responsible for them to exercise influence
over the individual organisation, context or finance
‘on the spot’.
This
kind of organisation in the Austrian educational
system reflects the general social principle of
‘social partnership’, whereby
representatives of all socially-relevant groups (i.e.
employers, trade unions, consumers, religious bodies
etc.) act as partners - in a suitably-representative
advisory capacity – and thus influence political
and cultural life. Naturally the school – as the
reproduction factor of significant social development
– could not exempt itself from this omnipresent
principle – it had to contribute towards the
‘smooth running’ of social partnership.
Party-political influence was also exercised in the
selection of school personnel and officials; in the
employment of teachers, school managers and
supervisors. A two-third majority is required in
Parliament to affect alterations and modifications of
school organisation so that development within
the educational system is dependent upon
party-political consensus. Influence over
modifications of contents and subject matter is
achieved by the ‘balanced’ appointment of
the appropriate commissions (e.g. approval commission
and a commission responsible for curricula etc.) so
that a ‘partnership’ solution can be
pre-determined and secured.
In order
to preserve the comprehensive state regulation and so
as not to disrupt the historical
‘partnership’ of the official bodies on the
decision-making level, the school officials had to
preserve the ‘smooth’ implementation of the
centralized regulations. For many years, therefore,
there were no commissions with powers of decision in
the individual schools in which the
‘stakeholders’ had the right of
co-determination. Only in certain schools of
compulsory education (primary, basic secondary
schools and poly-technical schools), where the
respective authority is responsible for the financing
of the school buildings, the fittings and equipment
of such and the running costs, can decisions be made
by the respective authorities although here, too, the
right of co-determination is exercised by the
peoples’ representatives who have been voted
into office and, therefore, only
‘indirectly’ by parents and custodians.
Therefore, for many years, parents had no legal
rights at school and were even regarded as
‘school extraneous persons’!
With the
trend towards participation of citizens in every-day
life, parents, teachers and pupils feel an increasing
need to determine their school themselves. This
development has been supported by the increasing
ineffectiveness of centralised measures if they are
not in accordance with basic needs. In 1962
comprehensive legislation led to the re-organisation
of much of the educational system and the School
Education Act of 1974 provided a new basis for
democratic rights, thus leaving the way open for
parent- and family-organisations to exert their
initiative to enforce their legal rights. Due to a
lack of sufficient political consensus, however, the
4th Supplementary Act to the School
Education Act to legalise the parents’ demands
was not enacted until 1986.
This
educational-political compromise led to the founding
of ‘school-partnerships’ on a local basis.
These are made up according to the models of the
comprehensive state social partnerships. Parents and
teachers of a school (also pupils of the
intermediate- and upper-educational levels) form an
advisory committee or a committee with
resolution-making authority; this however, has only
limited influence over school life. It is, therefore,
of special significance that parents and custodians
are encouraged to participate in advisory- and
resolution-making processes which are related to the
school, in order to present a specific,
legally-arranged position as a reciprocal pole to the
‘regal’ position of the state education
system.
2.1 Parents’
representation: organisation and realisation
2.1.1
Legal basis
When
regarding the rights of co-determination in Austrian
schools one must differentiate between (a) primary,
basic secondary-schools and special schools and (b)
poly-technical schools, vocational schools and
intermediate- and upper-schools. In the schools
listed under (a) in accordance with the School
Education Act (SchUG), each class must have a class-forum
and each school, a school-forum in order to
promote and strengthen the school community; the
schools of group (b) must form a school community
committee (SGA). The class forum has the
authority to pass resolutions in the following
matters as long as only one class is
concerned. The school forum and school community
committee have the authority to pass resolutions in
the following matters where more than one
class is concerned:
2.1.2
Resolutions
Questions
regarding the planning of school activities
of a duration of several days as far as the
personal costs of the pupils and the type of
activity are concerned. For example, one can
decide whether a week of sportive activities
should be carried out in summer or winter.
One can also decide which topic should be
stressed in a week of project work –
music, ecology, an intensive language course
or creativity, for example. The financing of
such activities can also be decided in this
manner.
Stipulations
pronouncing activities to be school-related
activities. Various activities may be
included – whether of a cultural or
sportive nature - as long as they are based
on curricular teaching, serve to satisfy the
objectives of the Austrian school and do not
endanger the pupil neither morally nor
physically.
Stipulation
of parent-teacher meetings (including date
and time) in which pupils may also
participate.
Stipulation
of school rules. This also includes the
stipulation of library rules.
Concessions
for collections among the pupils.
Concessions
for organising events in which pupils
participate which are not listed in the
above-mentioned point (e.g. street
collections).
Providing
opportunities for an advisory service for
school-careers. At least once a year, a
committee meeting of the SGA should plan a
day in the time-table for advice
The
committee should meet to decide upon the
stipulation and implementation of measures
relating to school-health. The school doctor
should be invited to be present at this
meeting.
Plans
which promote participation in school life.
Such participation should serve the political
and cultural education and promotion of
citizenship among the pupils, according to
the basic democratic principles and should
develop and strengthen the pupils’
social behaviour. Plans for suitably-aimed
spare-time occupations should also be
discussed.
Recently,
something new has been added: autonomous decisions
about determining the 5 free days per academic year,
which are legally stipulated and aspects of school
autonomy including changes in time table,
number of students in one group etc.
2.1.3
Advice
Important
questions of teaching.
Important
questions of education.
Questions
concerning the planning of school events
(particularly school day excursions and
events with a duration of several days).
The
choice of teaching material.
The
use of financial resources which have been
transferred to the school for administration.
Building
measures concerning the school.
Aspects
of sponsoring
The
class forum
The class forum is composed of the form teacher
and the parents and custodians of the pupils of the
class concerned. Other teachers of the class can
participate in an advisory capacity. The chairperson
is the form teacher. The class forum must be summoned
within the first eight weeks of each academic year.
Furthermore, the parents (custodians) of one-third of
the pupils of the form concerned can demand a meeting
of the class forum. A majority of votes is necessary
for the passing of a resolution. If the form teacher
is not in accord with the majority vote then the
resolution is suspended and transferred to the
responsibility of the school forum.
The
school forum
The school forum is composed of the head, all the
form teachers and parents’ representatives of
the classes of the school concerned. The chairperson
is the head, who, however, has no decisive vote
(except if he/she is a form teacher). Pupil
representatives are only present in an advisory
capacity. A committee can be summoned instead of the
school forum to deal with the matters-at-hand and
state resolutions – a situation which is
practical in large schools. For the passing of
resolutions, a majority of votes is necessary.
The
school community committee
The SGA is composed of nine members (3 teachers, 3
pupils and 3 parents) and the head. The latter has no
decisive vote. In private schools, the school
supporter should be invited to be present but only in
an advisory capacity. If the school has a
parents’ organisation then the representative
should also be invited to attend meetings.
The head
boy/girl of the school, together with two further
pupil representatives – who must attend at least
the ninth grade – have to be present too. There
must be at least two meetings of the committee in
each academic year. The head can summon the SGA at
any time. A meeting is also to be summoned if
one-third of the members so wish (i.e. three of the
members) and at the same time present a suggestion
for the agenda. The school management is then obliged
to summon the school community committee within a
week. Furthermore the parents’ representatives
in the SGA have the right to participate in
teachers’ conferences – with a few
exceptions (e.g. official matters of the teachers and
the election of teachers’ representatives). They
have no right to vote, however, except if they have a
specific legal right to do so – e.g. a threat of
exemption, or the exemption of pupils.
2.2 Experiences
we have had so far with the right of co-determination in
schools
The SGA
has the independent right to pass resolutions –
a situation which restricts the earlier field of
competence of the head who now has the right to
suspend a decision only if he/she regards it as
illegal or if it is impracticable for reasons of
organisation. Within this legal framework the school
community committees function very variably. In some
schools, a meeting of the SGA is held every
six-to-eight weeks, in others only twice a year. To
ensure that the resolutions do not remain ‘idle
rights’ - which often occurs in practice –
the following measures have been proposed:
Improvement
of the flow of information among all SGA
representatives – especially parents and
pupils.
More
emphasis on the topic ‘school
partnership’ and ‘school community
committees’ during the training- and
further-education of headmasters/-mistresses.
An
increase in the representation of pupils in
the current decision-making processes of the
academic year and an increased participation
of pupils’ representatives in the SGA.
More
communication seminars for pupils, parents,
teachers and headmasters/-mistresses.
3.1 The
parents’ role in school autonomy
3.1.1.
School autonomy: Starting point and legal basis
In the
last few years, just as in many other countries, the
catch-word school autonomy has been the most
significant topic in educational-political
discussions in Austria. With the increasing right of
co-determination of citizens in their daily lives
parents, teachers and pupils have also felt the need
and necessity to co-determine the organisation of
‘their’ school. This development has been
supported by the increase of de-centralisation and
autonomy in the business world and private sphere in
many social and cultural fields. Thus, the state has
lost some authority of regulation. This increase of
autonomy – the autonomy of organisation
and structure - sets much higher claims on the
school committees of co-determination than before
since it signifies not only the perception of more
scope of action but also, at the same time, of
self-responsibility, self-obligation and
self-control.
School
autonomy is to be understood as the legal basis which
– since the academic year 1993/94 allows basic
secondary schools (schools for 10-14 year-olds) the
possibility to set their own points of interest and
to develop their own time-tables and curricula. The
ministry determines the general curricula but the
individual school has the possibility – within
the strictly-defined limits – to determine the
time-tables and curricula and, to a moderate degree,
to adjust the finances to regional conditions and
needs. At the same time the interests of the pupils
must be taken into consideration and the particular
capabilities of the teachers must be implemented to
an optimal degree. Sufficient scope must also be
provided for the realisation of a pedagogical and
didactical concept – a school programme –
with the objective of achieving an improvement of
quality at the respective school.
As far
as the organisation is concerned this means that the
number of lessons in a compulsory subject may be
altered (within pre-determined limits); several
subjects may be combined into a learning project;
voluntary subjects may be converted into compulsory
subjects and the size of groups may also be
determined autonomously. Such measures, however, must
be financed by the ‘pot’ of teaching hours
which is allotted to each school. This means,
therefore, that promoting developments in one
direction automatically means limitations in other
fields: an ‘explosive’ situation which
could, quite easily, lead to conflicts!
3.2
Implementation of autonomous decision-making
The
starting point for compiling a school concept resides
in the conditions in each individual school. The
necessity for the implementation of autonomy, to
provide more scope of action, can be seen in the
dissatisfaction with the present situation of a
school – for example, if parents complain or
make suggestions for improvements during a
parent-teacher evening. As a reaction the members of
staff, together with the parents and possibly pupils,
could analyse the existing problems and formulate
their wishes regarding improvements. Subsequently, a
team - consisting preferably also of parents and
pupils - could develop regulations autonomous for the
school regarding time-tables, contents of lessons,
teaching- and learning-methods and the organisation
of learning. Since these individually-planned school
regulations have a regulative character certain
(minimal-) standards are determined by law and
correspond to those of the centrally-determined
curricula.
Hopefully
after extensive discussions of the results among the
people concerned the regulations are put into force
by a resolution of the school forum or school
community committee. For the passing of a
resolution a two-thirds majority in each of the
representative groups is necessary. The school
authorities only intervene if the curricula
regulations disregard the interest of the pupils,
parents and custodians beyond the individual school
(e.g. restrictions of rights and possibilities of
transferring to schools of further education). The
newly-compiled curricula should be posted in the
school for the duration of one month and then be
deposited with the school management. Parents and
pupils have the right of perusal, if they so wish.
This regular evaluation of set measures should lead
to a process of permanent self-renovation, which
should replace the ‘old’ methods.
Parents’
associations
Long before the introduction of legal rights of
co-determination in school committees parents’
associations were founded to support the interests of
parents and custodians on school-, district-,
provincial- and federal-levels. Thanks to their
commitment, the right of co-determination became
anchored in school law. Even today they have a
significant influence over matters concerning school
which extend, however, beyond school. In this respect
the parents’ associations have a greater
effectiveness since their structural pre-requisites
allow them to present topical matters better in
class-political, comprehensive discussions.
Parents’ organisations are organised into
provincial groups. Each provincial group sends
parents’ representatives to the provincial
parents’ committees and to the committee of
parents’ associations which represents the
parents’ interests to the federal ministry in
the federal parents’ committee.
In-service
training
New aspects must be considered in the training
and further education of teachers of the new
generation, namely one must concentrate more on the
training of self-evaluation and self-management. We
regard the models of the In-service Training
Institute (PI) in Vienna and the In-service Training
Institute in the Tyrol as admirable, where teams of
representatives of all stakeholders work
actively to combat the phenomenon of the
‘incapacity to negotiate’ of school-partner
committees.
Example
1:
Development of a model for a seminar on
‘Team-building for SGA members of individual
schools’ by the ‘school-partner’
workshop of the PI in Vienna
In order
to accomplish the task-at-hand the school partners
need not only good-will but also, know-how and a good
deal of (new) professionalism The participants of
this work-shop developed a two-day seminar model
‘Team-building for school partners’ and
tried it out for themselves. Subsequently they then
offered a seminar for SGA members who were interested
with the following contents:
Steps towards team-building
Possibilities of solving
problems
Forming opinions and coming
to decisions
Knowledge of the structure
of the SGA
Co-operation levels
Introduction to moderation
techniques
Example
2:
The central seminar: ‘Parent-teacher
partnership’ at the PI in the Tyrol
At the
introduction of class- and school-forums in 1986/87
one had little experience of collaboration between
parents and schools. Mostly the relationship was
marked by mutual mistrust. Therefore, within the
framework of vocational teacher-training for teachers
of compulsory education in the Tyrol, a central group
of the Pedagogical Institute of the federal province
of the Tyrol and parents and teachers from the entire
district of the Tyrol meet twice a year. They strive
to achieve practical suggestions for a more intensive
collaboration between parents and schools. For
example, district representatives of parents and
teachers are trained to function as multipliers in
pertinent events in their home districts. Specific
needs are discussed and reported back to the central
seminar for an interchange of ideas. Useful
experiences are discussed, elaborated, improved upon
and made accessible to all districts.
5.1
Perspectives of the future: ‘...doing
good towards each other’
Three
contradictory aspects could mark discussions about
school-partnership committees in the future:
On
the one hand the magic words ‘secure
quality’ are ever present (a situation
which is of advantage in the world of
economy, but not, necessarily in the public
sphere); on the other hand there is a
complete lack of ‘traditional
evaluation’ - apart from a system or
ranking by giving marks and a judgement of
competence of teachers and there are scarcely
any known measures of securing quality.
Much
will depend on how the people concerned deal with
these contradictions. They will need external
support, a further development of the institutional
framework, training courses which are ‘made to
measure’, even better information material and,
most of all, they will need an inner attitude which
cannot be prescribed. Karl Blüml, one of the
pioneers of the practical implementation of school
partnership ideals and headmaster of an academic
grammar school in Vienna for many years, formulates
this as: ‘... doing good towards each
other’.
Prof.
Dr. Michael Schratz
Dr. Ulrike Steiner-Löffler
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