Only 42 Percent of Newly Trained Teachers Feel Prepared for Classroom Challenges

The current state of teacher training in Austria has received critical feedback, revealing that merely 42 percent of newly qualified teachers in middle schools and lower secondary schools feel adequately prepared for practical teaching. This statistic, reported in the latest OECD Teacher Study TALIS 2024, marks a significant decline from 79 percent in 2018. Austria's performance is notably below the average of 61 percent among the 54 participating countries and regions.

Despite this, 72 percent of respondents rated the overall quality of their teacher training as high. However, this perception drops to 63 percent among those who completed their studies within the last five years. While there has been a slight increase in the confidence of new teachers regarding their subject knowledge--from 64 percent in the previous survey to nearly 70 percent--satisfaction concerning pedagogical and didactic training remains low, with just over half indicating they are well-prepared in these areas.

Furthermore, only 43 percent feel ready to incorporate digital tools into their lessons, although this is an improvement from 33 percent in 2018. Alarmingly, just a quarter of teachers feel equipped to handle multilingual classrooms. This lack of preparedness is particularly concerning given that over a quarter of students in Austria report a first language other than German.

According to the TALIS data, one in four surveyed teachers works in schools where more than ten percent of students struggle with the language of instruction, and 63 percent teach in schools with a significant student population from migrant backgrounds--an increase of 12 percentage points since 2018. Additionally, 80 percent report having at least one student with a refugee background in their classroom, the highest rates among TALIS participants, where the averages are one-quarter and one-half, respectively.

In contrast, only eight percent of teachers work in schools where more than ten percent of students require special educational support, compared to 46 percent in other countries. It is noted that Austria has specialized schools dedicated to students with disabilities, which may account for this disparity.

To address these concerns, reforms to teacher training are slated for implementation in the 2026/27 academic year. The new curriculum will include mandatory foundational modules in German as a second language and inclusive pedagogy for all students. The training will also be designed to be more practical and accessible, reducing the duration of the program from a four-year bachelor's and two-year master's degree to a three-year bachelor's and two-year master's program.