Early childhood education in Austria

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Early childhood education institutions – such as kindergartens – are the first education institutions in a child’s life. Education and care in early childhood education institutions lay the foundation for success in later life in terms of both education and employment. Indeed, empirical educational research and economics clearly show that the first years of a child’s education are key for their subsequent educational path and that successful models at the early childhood education stage also have the greatest economic impact.

Coordination and implementation of the agreement pursuant to Article 15a of the Federal Constitutional Act (B-VG) on ECEC

With regard to the constitutional division of competences in Austria, legislation and execution in matters pertaining to the early childhood education system are in general the responsibility of the federal states under Article 14 (4) (b) of the Federal Constitutional Law (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz, B-VG).

This means that the federal states regulate the framework for early childhood education institutions and fund these institutions accordingly.

Since 2008, however, the Federal Government has continuously invested in the expansion of the early childhood education and care sector, in the compulsory free kindergarten year prior to starting school and in support for early language development on the basis of the Article 15a B-VG Agreement with the federal states.

Coordinating and ensuring the implementation of the aspects of this agreement is a key task for the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. In particular, the areas of language promotion, teaching values, the transition between ECEC and school and the qualification of staff must be promoted so that the desired goals are achieved: Children should acquire an understanding of successful social coexistence and knowledge of the German language as early as possible.

For more information, please visit Agreement pursuant to Article 15a B-VG on early childhood education

Education

The Federal Government is responsible for the standardised training of ECEC teachers at Training Institutes for Early Childhood Education (Bildungsanstalten für Elementarpädagogik, BAfEP) and for all educational, content and vocational matters at the Training Institutes for Early Childhood Education (BAfEP), Training Institutes for Social Pedagogy (Bildungsanstalten für Sozialpädagogik, BASOP) and at the College for Teaching Assistant Careers (Fachschule für pädagische Assistenzberufe).

For more information, please visit Early childhood education/social pedagogy as a career

The Advisory Board for Early Childhood Education

The nationwide Advisory Board for Early Childhood Education was established in September 2020. This serves the exchange and mutual reporting of the members represented on the advisory board to promote Austria-wide cooperation. It discusses current challenges and proposed solutions in the field of early childhood education and thus provides an important basis for decision-making in the field of early childhood education.

In addition, the advisory board develops recommendations and proposals for uniform minimum quality standards and improvements in the field of early childhood education, which should ultimately be incorporated into the members' area of expertise. Experts from the federal government, the federal states and municipalities as well as from NGOs, science and practice are represented on the advisory board.

The advisory board is organised by the office at the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.

TSI project for improving ECEC staff working conditions

The BMBWF is working together with national stakeholders and with the support of UNICEF and the European Commission to improve the quality of early childhood education.

It won the bid for an EU project from over 500 submissions from all 27 EU member states.