Topic: Inclusion

Lack of Support Causes a Lot of Frustration

Local schools lack both resources and space.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

More and more children in schools need special support. Yet funding and allocated hours have not been increased since 1995. Educators feel left to fend for themselves, as a new survey now clearly shows.

Insufficient personnel and financial resources, a severe lack of space, and far too long wait times for the necessary approvals—in a survey, local educators at public schools and kindergartens paint a rather bleak picture when it comes to inclusion in educational institutions. Nearly 900 teachers, early childhood educators, and school principals participated in the survey conducted by the SLÖ (Social Democratic Teachers of Austria) and the Younion union on the situation of children with special needs.

“The resources are simply not sufficient, and as a result, the children are not receiving the support they need,” said Franz Bicek, himself an elementary school principal and state chair of the SLÖ.

All children should receive support
While the number of children with so-called special educational needs is rising, funding and support hours have stagnated since 2001. “This leads to children becoming frustrated and no longer wanting to go to school because they aren’t receiving support and can’t keep up,” the report states. “But these children deserve to be supported. There are many cases where children no longer need support after a few years,” says staff representative Margit Sageder.

They are therefore calling for more support hours, less bureaucracy, and a significant increase in the funding formula for financial resources and staff positions.

Kommentar das „Krone“

Niemanden ausgrenzen

It’s a mouthful of a term that very few people can really picture—special educational needs. And the range of situations in which this term applies is vast. It spans from Down syndrome to all forms of autism to learning disabilities.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

But above all, there are children behind these terms. And if they are not given the appropriate support, they are deprived of the chance to lead self-determined lives. This makes it all the more incomprehensible that the formula for allocating support hours and teaching staff has not even been adjusted since 2001.