Polytechnic School (Austria)

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Polytechnic School (PTS)
type of school
Country Austria
Type of school (general) One-year type of school for vocational preparation
ISCED level 3C
Classification (national) General school / General compulsory school  (11.4)
School board local community
requirement no
Duration 1 year
Levels : 9th grade
Standard age 14
Graduation Compulsory education
School types 7 departments and special forms
number 255 -  (2011/12)
student 18,841 -  (2011/12) , 18% of a year
voluntary 10th year is possible

The Polytechnische Schule (also Polytechnikum , technically PTS , in school name also PS , colloquially abbreviated to Poly ) is a one-year general compulsory school in the Austrian education system , which follows on from the 8th grade. It serves primarily to prepare for a career .

Type of school and educational goal

The polytechnic school is a type of school that closes the gap between the end of lower secondary level in the 8th  grade and the end of compulsory education at the end of the 15th year.

The educational goal of the PTS is " to expand and deepen the general education of the students in an appropriate manner, to prepare them for the professional decision through professional orientation and to provide basic professional training " (§ 28 SchOG). The school is primarily used by those pupils who begin an apprenticeship after finishing secondary school (which has been replaced by the New Middle School - NMS for short since 2012 ) . Depending on their interests, inclinations, talents and abilities, the pupils should be given the best possible qualifications for transfer to apprenticeship and vocational school ( dual training ) , as well as being able to transfer to secondary schools . The PTS offers the opportunity to set a course for training and to collect professional experience, which happens during professional practical days . In addition, the PTS should also offer the opportunity to attend a secondary school if the transfer does not succeed at the end of secondary school.

For a polytechnic school, the positive completion of a secondary or special school , AHS lower level or new middle school is not a prerequisite. In addition, a student who cannot find an apprenticeship can also spend a voluntary 10th year in this type of school.

A polytechnic school can either be set up independently or in an organizational unit with another compulsory school.

Departments

In order to achieve these goals, the Polytechnic School offers various subject areas from which the students can choose:

as well as some special curricula.

The departments are supplemented by certificates such as the computer driving license ( ECDL ) or the entrepreneur driving license .

On the position of the polytechnical school in the school system

With the first post-war school amendment in 1962, compulsory schooling in Austria was extended from eight to nine years. A course that is unique in Austria and also rare in Europe was introduced, which is explicitly intended to use this one year to round off the general education and, in particular, to make it easier for students to choose a career ( upper secondary level , ISCED level 3C ). The two other options that were available after the SchOG amendment, an extension of the secondary school to five years, or an extension of the elementary school to five years with moving the secondary school and AHS backwards, were discarded at the time. After ten years of school trials (1970–1980), the type of school was determined with the 6th SchOG amendment in 1980 (Section 28).

The ambitious concern itself could never really live up to its demands. The general educational content does not seem to cover any specific need. The practical orientation, which was set in the educational goal, has always remained far below what students interested in craftsmanship expected for their training and what is also standard in the subsequent teaching due to inadequate equipment. And the - also legally enshrined - transfer opportunities to a secondary school could not be used because the curriculum of the polytechnic course did not match that of the secondary schools, which means that attending the PTS leaves no other chance than an apprenticeship if you don't have a year want to lose. Therefore, regardless of whether the student intends to do an apprenticeship to compensate for learning deficits or just wants to complete his compulsory schooling, the polytechnic school was seen from the beginning as a "lost year". The economy also saw it similarly, in the 1960s and 70s there was a great shortage of apprentices.

This also began a social devaluation of this school. Reforms in another broad-based school experiment in 1990–96, as well as from 2000 - Poly-2000 , conversion of the Polytechnic Course  (PL) into the Polytechnic School  (PTS) - have not been able to stop this despite initially positive results. In the 1980/81 school year, 30 percent of the corresponding school year selected the PTS, by 2009/10 the proportion had fallen to 19.4 percent. Of the more than 60,000 students in one year who graduated from Hauptschule in 2012, around 9,500 had already completed their compulsory schooling and either remained without further education (around 4,000) or switched directly to teaching / technical school  (4,500), and 20,000 went to the Polytechnic school. Half of all secondary school graduates do not change to a polytechnic school, but to a vocational middle or higher school (BHMS; BMS : 13,000, BHS : 18,500). In fact, more than 40,000 young people started dual training in the 10th grade. This means that 20,000 of the students who switched to a BHMS did not change to graduate from these schools, but to bridge the 9th year of compulsory school - they probably already knew which professional direction they wanted to choose, so they no longer needed professional orientation and looked to the future Teachers better chances if they bypassed the PTS. Conversely, the polytechnic should specifically choose those who are rejected by the BHMS or who have no concrete idea of ​​their future working life. In the meantime, this is viewed critically by the economy because the graduates of the 1st year of a BHMS have not yet received any preparation for the apprenticeship training: There, the curricula are based on the final or diploma examination.

In fact, there is a strong urban-rural differentiation: In urban areas, the polytechnic school is seen as a low-quality school course - in Vienna around 60% of Austrian students with a migration background attend a PTS (overall Austrian average is 18%, above-average rates in this one Area are considered a typical problem area indicator). In the country, the conditions are primarily decisive: While polytechnic schools are consistently located at the main school locations, middle and higher schools are often far away - especially those that are suitable for the desired career. Here, entire secondary school classes usually transfer to the polytechnic school relatively closed because there is no option and staying in the social environment is rated higher than a school career. In rural areas, the polytechnic school is the normal course of education for an apprentice and by no means has a negative impact.

With the 2018/19 school year, the Hauptschule will be finally abolished and replaced by the New Middle School (NMS), which has been running as a school trial or as a school model for several years . This connects the performance group system of the Hauptschule with the curriculum of the AHS lower level . This is intended to eliminate the educational gap between secondary and secondary school, and thus the setting of the course between teaching and secondary school (whether general or vocational) as early as the 5th  grade (at the age of 10). How this will affect the Polytechnic School as a type of school is currently unclear: At the same time, thinking about adapting this type of school is being considered, and expanding the New Middle School to 5 years in the future also appears possible.

literature

  • Peter Jäger: Origin and Development of the Polytechnic School. Brochure . Ed .: Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, Department I / 9a. 1st edition. Part 1, April 2001 ( eduhi.at [PDF; 264 kB ; accessed on March 9, 2012]).
  • Peter Jäger: Origin and Development of the Polytechnic School. Brochure . Ed .: Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, Department I / 9a. 1st edition. Part 2, April 2001 ( eduhi.at [PDF; accessed on March 9, 2012]).
  • Peter Jäger: The Austrian Polytechnic School in Transition - School Pedagogical Perspectives. Brochure . Ed .: Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, Department I / 9a. 1st edition. April 2001 ( pubshop.bmukk.gv.at [PDF; accessed on March 19, 2012]).

Course objective and plan:

  • 4. Polytechnic school , § 28 School Organization Act , Stf. BGBl. No. 242/1962 as amended by ris.bka
  • Thomas Steinkogler (edited for the Internet): curriculum of the polytechnic school . Ed .: Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, Department I / 7. 5th (corrected) edition. October 2008 (The curriculum regulation of the Polytechnic School was published in the Federal Law Gazette Part II, No. 236, of August 22, 1997, amended by BGBl II No. 283/2003 and further by BGBl II No. 308/2006).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Austrian school systematics, status 2011/12, (pdf) , bmukk.gv.at, p. 6.
  2. 252, there are also 2 PTS of the Catholic Church, and one other school provider. Schools in the school year 2010/11 according to the Schulerhalter ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistik.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Statistics Austria (PDF)
  3. Schools in the school year 2010/11 by school type , Statistics Austria (online)
  4. Schoolchildren 2010/11 by detailed type of education and gender ( memento of the original from May 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistik.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Statistics Austria (PDF)
  5. a b c Schoolchildren in the school year 2010/11 according to school level ( memento of the original from October 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistik.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Statistics Austria (PDF)
  6. The change from an AHS lower level or statutory school to the PTS does not play any role, and remains at 1% (168 students compared to 17,146 from the Hauptschule, students in the school year 2010/11 according to school levels , Statistics Austria, PDF, see above)
  7. a b c d Ninth grade: "Poly" is to be upgraded. Especially sections OECD criticizes high proportion of migrants and poly more popular in rural areas . In: derStandard.at ›Education› School. January 12, 2011, accessed March 8, 2012 .
  8. ^ Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . April 2001, p. 16 .
  9. This is laid down in Section 7 (3) of the Basic Law on Maintenance of Compulsory Schools ; compare Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . April 2001, p. 13 .
  10. The high level of apprenticeship training in Austria is also due to the fact that the apprentices in companies are challenged right from the start: Initially, using the apprentice for pure handiness is unusual in most industries.
  11. ^ Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . April 2001, p. 13 .
  12. Quotation Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . April 2001, p. 13 .
  13. ^ Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . April 2001, p. 21 .
  14. Quotation Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . April 2001, p. 14 (PDF 11) . Based on J. Baumert and others: The education system in the Federal Republic of Germany. Reinbek 1994, p. 447, the author describes the later reforms as the “Pyrrhus victory” of education.
  15. ^ Jäger: Origin and development of the polytechnic school . Part 1, April 2001, p. 15, 68 f . (Final remark).
  16. a b c d Polytechnic schools: tarnished image for 45 years. Unsuccessful start prevented a clear definition. Students are increasingly bypassing school. Many drop out of high school after compulsory schooling. In: DiePresse.com → Education. Retrieved March 8, 2012 .
  17. Transfers from secondary level I to secondary level II in the school year 2010/11 according to gender , Statistics Austria (PDF)
  18. see Jäger: Origin and Development of the Polytechnic School . April 2001, p. 11 .
  19. Claudia Heim: Polytechnic School - Discontinued Model or Future Opportunity? ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / portal.wko.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . portal.wko.at, 6 June 2011.
  20. Transfer to secondary level I – II: 94,106 in total, to PTS: 17,439. Transfers from lower secondary level to upper secondary level in the 2010/11 school year according to gender. Statistics Austria, s. O.