Years of education problems is finally growing to the crisis in society. Many adults are “five candidates”! We have deteriorated considerably within eleven years. Minister of Education Christoph Return knows the reasons and finds clear words in the “Krone” interview. He now wants to make the school system suitable for the future.
A finding that shakes: the reading capacity for adults has fallen dramatically within eleven years. This was the result of the Austria statistics as part of the so-called Piaac survey, which was carried out in 31 countries. In contrast to the notorious PISA test, the group of adults employable between the ages of 16 and 65 is analyzed. “Although we have not seen any remarkable change in people with high educational qualifications since 2011/12, the middle reading skills have deteriorated considerably in people with low educational qualifications,” explains Tobia Thomas, general manager of Statistics Austria.
Austria is under the OECD average
The minus is no less than 12 competence points within eleven years (see graphic). With a total of 254 points, we are currently considerably under the OECD average (260 points). Especially from the age of 35 it goes downhill. Only the student and student group of 16 to 24-year-olds tear us out of us.
While reading skills in Austria are deteriorating in leisure and job, they remain unchanged in Germany. Finns and Sweden are moving away from the other countries. Austria continues to follow
Experts are losses
Especially with more complex reading materials such as newspaper articles, magazines and newsletters, the population of Austria is lagging behind. However, the statistics have no explanation for this. The reading competence under the labor force was particularly clear in service, craftsmanship and assembly and assistant.
The candidates of five people among non-employees are mainly pensioners and those respondents who only take care of the household. Incidentally, people who had not had a German as a mother tongue were interviewed in their “first language”. These results were included.
Part -employees have improved
Interesting details: Employees of partly receive a higher reading level in the 2023 survey. The reason: the academic share is today much higher for sub -time students than eleven years ago. The realization that higher skills and higher education are associated with a better income is not surprising.
Another detail can be read from the results: the decrease in daily mathematical skills with five points is supposedly “not alarming” for experts. Because this is located in the statistical fluctuation area. With 267 points we landed via OECD agents. According to the motto “What Hänschen does not learn, Hans never learns again”, the current fiasco will be difficult to improve, the hope is probably in the future.
“Krone”: Minister, according to the study: reading competence in Austria has decreased considerably in recent years – especially in adults with low education. How do you explain this development?
Christoph returns: I find it frightening. Especially at a time when changing quickly, it would actually need more reading skills. However, we see that this decrease is not a pure Austria phenomenon. The reasons for this are migration, the effects of pandemic and excessive consumption of mobile phones. Social media in particular make the meaningful lecture difficult.
The gap between people with high and low reading skills is larger in Austria than in the OECD average. Why is that?
This is, among other things, due to the fact that we have a large number of people in Austria who do not have a mandatory school who leave certificate – often as a result of immigration of educational classes in recent years.
Are curricula even designed to promote long -term reading skills?
We just work on it. Reading promotion starts in kindergarten and is intensified at school, mainly due to larger German financing and a new anchoring in the curricula. The school is preparing well for life, but we must also make life possible. Many affected people have not been in the education system for years.
Are there mainly affected people with a low level of education?
The key is in good basic training. If you have no or only a mandatory school certificate, you are clearly disadvantaged. That is why we want to ensure that all students have basic skills when leaving the school. For this we are working on an “educational obligation” with a so -called “average maturity”. This means that it is not the number of school years that should count, but whether someone reads, writes and writes.
Would that mean that students may have to stay in school for more than nine years?
That can be an episode. But simply hanging an extra school year is not enough. If it did not work in nine years, the tenth does nothing – at least not in the conventional sense. New, innovative ways are needed to promote in a targeted manner.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
