Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Based on proposals drafted by curricular task forces, the Federal Ministry of Education establishes a curricular framework through a consultation process that includes provincial educational bodies and teacher associations. Schools have some measure of freedom to adapt the curriculum to local needs. The curriculum provides a joint guiding framework that lays out the general overarching aims, stating that teachers have pedagogical and didactical responsibility to select methods of instruction freely. Teachers also have some freedom in selecting teaching materials.
When planning reading instruction, it is essential to address students’ individual needs and reading skills while also taking into account the long term goals that students should achieve (e.g., reading to gather information or for entertainment). Children’s individual reading strengths form the basis of an ongoing process aimed at increasing their reading competencies. In addition to various kinds of reading exercises, individualized reading promotion programs offer specific exercises to build sensory, motor, language, movement, and social skills.
Teachers should appraise students’ individual reading preferences and interests, thereby encouraging students’ reading abilities and self-confidence as readers. The goal is to develop children’s skills and thus enable them step by step to feel responsible for their own learning without supervision. For this to happen, children must learn strategies to read texts (e.g., by underlining key words), allowing them to acquire and store information. Exhibit 1 provides an overview of the learning strategies within three distinct process domains: Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Resource Management.4
Exhibit 1: Learning Strategies
| Cognitive | Metacognitive | Resource Management |
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Guidelines for first lessons in reading promote the practice of a mixed method, analytical‑synthetic approach to instruction. Elements of the whole language method (e.g., presenting whole words and short texts from the beginning to motivate children according to context) are used along with phonics to teach children to analyze the sound value of letters and syllables and to synthesize them as words.
Instructional Materials
Instructional materials are not part of the curriculum published by the Federal Ministry of Education. Teachers work with a variety of textbooks by various publishers. These textbooks and materials are developed according to various methods of initial reading and generally are approved by the Ministry to ensure that they fit with standards and have the necessary methodological level. A list of approved materials (textbooks) exists for each grade level, but none are explicitly recommended. Textbook approval lies with a commission at the Ministry. In the context of the Schulbuchaktion (school book initiative), students receive textbooks from the approved list in addition to other materials free of charge (up to a financial limit).
Basic materials used for reading development come from a range of reading books offering samples of literature from different genres for children. Teachers appreciate the variety of materials offered by Österreichischer Buchklub der Jugend (Austrian Book Club for Young People), a registered nonprofit organization that has been engaged in media, reading pedagogy, and social and cultural issues for more than 55 years. The main objectives of the Buchklub are to foster interest in and enjoyment of reading and promote access to and use of books and multimedia. The Ministry often recommends particular media and teaching aids developed by the Buchklub to schools and teachers. Some books are provided in sets accompanied by materials such as worksheets, folding alphabet letters, and sheets for practicing writing. Spelling books and simple readers are available for initial reading, while new kinds of multimedia materials (e.g., discs, videos) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools support reading development. The Austrian Red Cross also offers educational magazines for schools, including age appropriate magazines containing a variety of topics and teaching materials.
School and class libraries seek to meet the needs of students. Schools are encouraged to cooperate with public libraries and with organizations like Österreichischer Buchklub and KinderLiteraturHaus (an initiative of the Buchklub aimed at bringing together young readers with children’s book authors and illustrators) or with publishing houses on various projects and reading campaigns. Teachers also can conduct lessons within the school library. Public libraries are regarded as an important key to literacy. Austria has a comprehensive network of libraries. In 2015, more than 800,000 borrowers in more than 1,400 public libraries were registered.5 The libraries grant free and direct access to books, magazines, and digital media for children, adolescents, and adults and often organize special programs for young readers (e.g., holiday events, reading aloud activities, reading workshops, traditional readings by authors).
Use of Technology
The use of modern communication and information technology, mentioned in the general didactical principles section of the curriculum, might contribute to activation and motivation (application in accordance to the facilities at the school). The realization of individualization and the internal differentiation and promotion are supported by appropriate facilities at school and in class with operational resources, technical media, modern communication, and information technology.
Role of Reading Specialists and Second Language Instruction
Because the detection of difficulties early in the reading process is essential, Austria has introduced an effective remedial system to detect students’ reading deficiencies as soon as possible. To ensure that students get a good start at school, the federal government sponsors language support at kindergartens.
Since the 2006–2007 school year, primary school children requiring language support (including immigrant children) can receive up to 11 hours of small group instruction per week. However, practical application varies from school to school and is not always feasible. The number of teachers has been increased to accelerate integration of these students into primary schools and to address the shortage of additional language support experts.
Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing
The Austrian compulsory school system (in general ISCED Levels 1 and 2) is accessible for all students, regardless of factors such as their first language or religious affiliation.6 Thus, every child with permanent residence in Austria must attend school, and all public schools at ISCED Levels 1 and 2 are obligated to take all students, regardless of their first language or language level in the language of schooling. At ISCED Level 3, after the end of compulsory education, allowance of access for these students is not mandatory for the school, yet can be granted by the head of school.
Students who enter the Austrian school system and cannot follow regular instruction due to their lack of knowledge in the language of schooling normally are recognized as “non-regular” students. At ISCED Levels 1 and 2, the maximum time students can remain in this status is two years; at ISCED Level 3, there is no time restriction. The percentage of non-regular students has increased over the last years. Whereas in the 2015–2016 school year (the year PIRLS 2016 was administered) the proportion of non-regular students in Grade 4 was almost 2 percent, it was under 1 percent in 2010–2011 (the year PIRLS 2011 was administered).
Students who have a first language other than the language of schooling, who have attended school in another country, and who want to enter the Austrian school system later than Grade 1 as regular students need to take an examination demonstrating their proficiency or undergo observation by teachers who, after a certain time, certify that the student is able to follow instruction as a regular student. Students are entitled to receive the following supporting measures regarding the language of schooling:
- Non-regular students at ISCED Levels 1 and 2 can attend language support courses for 11 hours a week in lieu of other compulsory subjects (Sprachförderkurse).
- Regular students in general education at ISCED Levels 1 to 3 can receive special instruction in German as a second language at the same time as regular classes (in the same or a different classroom) or after school in separate, small groups: at ISCED Levels 1 and 2 to the extent of six weekly lessons, and at ISCED Level 3 to the extent of 48 lessons per year.
- Apart from these measures, mother tongue tuition following a fixed curriculum is provided. In general education it is offered at all levels, to an extent of two to six weekly lessons. In vocational education and training colleges, first language tuition is offered within the framework of school autonomy.
- Recently, rising need of school-based support in Austria to help children from migrant backgrounds learn the language of schooling has been seen. This need was addressed with the expansion of school‑based support of German language command for students with a first language other than German, along with the expansion of language proficiency courses for non-regular students with German as their second language and the expansion of lessons in mother tongue tuition.
Students with special education needs are taught in special schools or in inclusive settings at primary and lower secondary schools. Parents have the right to choose the kind of schooling they prefer for their child. Special curricula and/or adapted mainstream curricula are applied in response to students’ individual needs. During the 2014–2015 school year, more than half of all students with special education needs attended integrated classes. In compulsory education, students with special education needs are taught according to the regular education curricula, provided they are generally capable of attaining the instructional objectives. In all other cases, they study a curriculum of a special school geared to their disability. There are special curricula for general special schools (for performance impaired students or students with learning difficulties), as well as for special schools for children who are blind or deaf or who have severe disabilities.