Special Contract Teachers in the Tension Between Professional Practice and Teaching Studies

Special Contract Teachers in the Tension Between Professional Practice and Teaching Studies

by Michael Wukowitsch

The education systems of several European countries face the challenge of recruiting sufficient qualified teachers for their classrooms. The shortage may be due to different types of schools, subjects, or regional boundaries while the education systems of some European countries face one-off shortages, in other countries numerous problems occur at the same time, posing a particular challenge. In particular, the rising average age of teachers and changes in the composition of the population require education policy solutions. A logical target group for closing this gap are therefore teacher education students who have not yet completed their teacher education studies. In Austria, they are legally permitted to take on a certain number of teaching hours under a special contract.

This book highlights the relevant motivations that speak in favor of special contract teachers in primary schools taking the step towards autonomy, to characterize the positive and negative experiences made with the various protagonists both at the school site and at the teacher education site, and to make visible the challenges that this double burden involves. Also emphasised are the systematic support measures put in place by the school site and the University College of Teacher Education, as perceived by the special contract teachers. The role of the site-specific school culture for the career entry of special contract teachers is also clarified.

Results of the study show that the current full-time degree programmes are not tailored to the needs of special contract teachers. A lack of time and resources has an impact on the quality of teaching, despite good cooperation with the teaching staff. It was found that, in addition to the challenges of qualitative lesson planning and implementation, there is an increased need for knowledge transfer in the areas of classroom management and school law agendas. Language barriers, behavioral problems, problematic working attitudes of individual pupils, and cooperation with parents and guardians also represent considerable factors of uncertainty which are particularly prevalent in the melting pond of a large city.

These defined needs were surveyed by special contract teachers, head teachers, and practical instructors. They therefore do not represent a one-dimensional view. Due to changing demographic structures, special contract teachers and lateral entrants are increasingly entering the profession at school locations. For the curriculum development of primary school education, it is therefore recommended that the currently valid modules be evaluated, compared with the needs identified in this study from a multi-perspective, and subsequently considered when selecting and adapting teaching content.

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Format: A4
Publisher: MAP
Published: 2024
ISBN: 978-9926-8645-7-6
eISBN: 978-9926-8645-6-9

For all other details and ordering contact: mapbook@mapub.org.