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The COVID-19 crisis caused extensive mental health strains. Sense of coherence (SOC) is considered a protective factor for mental health in crisis that might also be decisive during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the mechanisms are not yet well understood. Using longitudinal survey data of 117 Austrian university students collected in 2020, we tested both moderating and mediating effects of SOC for the association of different stressors with later wellbeing. SOC did not buffer but mediated the effects of stressors on wellbeing. Students especially suffered from reduced feelings of manageability when confronted with financial strains, dissatisfying study situations, or disrupted plans. Supporting them in managing the difficulties of the crisis should therefore be considered a crucial part of psychosocial support.

In the long history of the Catholic school in Europe, it has taken various forms, linked to local cultures and to the history, particularly religious but also political, of each state. While it is possible to account for this diversity, it is also important to highlight common features and challenges, such as secularisation and globalisation, which question the identity of Catholic schools. It is by addressing these challenges that Catholic schools will maintain an original school model that inspires the public schools of the different educational systems present in Europe.

Due to the rising linguistic heterogeneity in schools, the inclusion of pupils with a first language other than the language of instruction is one of the major challenges of education systems all over the world. In this paper, attitudes of in-service teachers, pre-service teachers and parents towards the inclusion of pupils with a first language other than the language of instruction are examined. Additionally, as the paper focused on how the participants perceive the development of this pupils in different school settings (fully included, partly included, fully segregated). Data from 1501 participants were investigated. Descriptive results showed that pre-service teachers' attitudes towards the inclusive schooling of pupils with different language skills in composite classes were rather positive, while attitudes of in-service teachers and parents rather tend to be neutral. Regarding the results concerning the participants' attitudes towards the pupils' development in different school settings, all three sub-groups belief that pupils with German as first language would develop in a more positive way, compared to pupils without German as first language. Moreover, the migration background of pre-service teachers and parents had a positive influence on the participants' attitudes.

The inclusion of all children in regular classrooms is an important aim in many European countries. For the implementation of inclusion some children rely on support via learning and support assistants. Despite the benefits assistants provide by enhancing student access and progress, assistants' support has also been criticised for contributing to more exclusive than to inclusive processes in class. A necessary precondition for enhancing inclusive processes is the assistants' extension of professional knowledge and competence. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a developed online tool for assistants' professionalisation on the collaboration with teachers and parents. Moreover success factors in assistants' work are identified. The quantitative study sample consisted of 70 assistants, teachers and parents. Focus group interviews with nine assistants and teachers were also conducted. The results of this mixed methods study showed that assistants, teachers and parents have a tendency to evaluate their collaboration more positively after assistants have made use of an online tool for professionalisation. All of them perceived the regular exchange of information to be particularly important. The results of this study also showed that clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of assistants is necessary if they are to work successfully in schools.

The rapid development of digital technologies and their increasing application in many areas of everyday life challenge all citizens to continuously learn digital skills. This also applies to older adults, among whom digital literacy is on average less well-developed than among younger adults. This article investigates why retired older adults participate in opportunities to learn digital skills. Multiple case design with both qualitative and quantitative methods was used to include the views of older adults from Austria, Finland, and Germany. The results of this interdisciplinary study indicated individual, social and technical reasons for their participation in digital skills training. Practical implications and recommendations for future studies are suggested.

Academic libraries, apart from their main function, which is to provide information services to academic communities, may also perform a number of social roles in the broad meaning of the term. Accordingly, they now tend to serve as the third place offering inclusion and animation activities to academic as well as local communities (including potential students) and to groups in risk of social exclusion (immigrants, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, etc.) or in need of various kinds of care and support. However, for libraries to be able to fulfil those tasks, they need properly trained staff who not only have the required competencies but also the right social attitudes. The paper presents an analysis of the social attitudes of academic librarians from twenty countries across the world as compared to the personnel of other types of libraries. The level of individual social capital, activity in social networks, aspirations in life and social and civic engagement were investigated. It was noted that the respondents tend to undervalue the importance of the work done by libraries for local communities. At the same time, the research showed that academic librarians have a somewhat lower level of individual social capital and trust than public librarians and less extensive social networks. Nonetheless, they are open to relationships with others, which enables them to engage in various social projects.

Hands-on courses utilizing preserved human tissues for educational training offer an important pathway to acquire basic anatomical knowledge. Owing to the reevaluation of formaldehyde limits by the European Commission, a joint approach was chosen by the German-speaking anatomies in Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) to find commonalities among embalming protocols and infrastructure. A survey comprising 537 items was circulated to all anatomies in German-speaking Europe. Clusters were established for "ethanol"-, formaldehyde-based ("FA"), and "other" embalming procedures, depending on the chemicals considered the most relevant for each protocol. The logistical framework, volumes of chemicals, and infrastructure were found to be highly diverse between the groups and protocols. Formaldehyde quantities deployed per annum were three-fold higher in the "FA" (223 L/a) compared to the "ethanol" (71.0 L/a) group, but not for "other" (97.8 L/a), though the volumes injected per body were similar. "FA" was strongly related to table-borne air ventilation and total fixative volumes =1000 L. "Ethanol" was strongly related to total fixative volumes >1000 L, ceiling- and floor-borne air ventilation, and explosion-proof facilities. Air ventilation was found to be installed symmetrically in the mortuary and dissection facilities. Certain predictors exist for the interplay between the embalming used in a given infrastructure and technical measures. The here-established cluster analysis may serve as decision supportive tool when considering altering embalming protocols or establishing joint protocols between institutions, following a best practice approach to cater toward best-suited tissue characteristics for educational purposes, while simultaneously addressing future demands on exposure limits.

Previous research has established a connection between Standard Language Ideology (SLI) and prestige and power and has highlighted the existence of a dominant cultural narrative that idealizes Standard High German as a provider of cultural elevation and unity, viewing nonstandard Germanic varieties as exotic. Nevertheless, scholars have likewise emphasized the importance of familiarizing L2 German students with the standard and nonstandard regional and dialectal varieties that are widely used within and across Germanic-speaking countries. Through a grounded ethnographic approach involving classroom observations and interviews, the study suggests that the L2 German university students observed seemed to believe in the superiority of Standard German despite efforts by their instructors to counter this belief. The study extends previous research by illustrating L2 German instructors' negotiation strategies, used to highlight the communicative legitimacy of German and Austrian dialects to their students.

This article addresses the ways in which education systems responded to the aftermath of World War I with respect to education for nationalism and internationalism. It does so by drawing on theories of internationalism and through an analysis of the writings of Daniel Prescott, an American scholar who toured European schools in the middle of the 1920s. Influenced by his experience of frontline warfare as a volunteer driver in France in 1917, Prescott travelled in Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany and Switzerland from September 1926 to June 1927 hoping to see education systems being more internationalist and less chauvinist. He interviewed prominent educationists and observed and interviewed teachers in schools, sending regular reports by letter to his sponsors and then publishing a book "Education and International Relations. A Study of the Social Forces That Determine the Influence of Education," in 1930. The analysis of his account of his observations demonstrates that Prescott collected evidence of a growing internationalist approach to education particularly among elementary school teachers. The analysis also relates this to the contemporaneous concern to develop internationalism as a response to the nationalism at the heart of WWI.

Purpose: This study aims to examine how lecturers in European higher education institutions perceive the service-learning approach as a teaching concept and feel prepared for its implementation after a short-term training. Service-learning connects theory and practice by allowing students to participate in a service that meets community needs, reflect on this experience and gain an enhanced sense of civic engagement. Design/methodology/approach: The evaluation study drew on data from four focus group discussions with n = 21 lecturers from five European countries following a Winter School on service-learning in 2020. The qualitative data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: The findings indicate four themes of preparedness: (1) overall conceptions of service-learning, (2) continuum of preparedness for service-learning, (3) influential factors for preparedness and (d) transfer to home universities. The participants viewed themselves as multipliers for service-learning in their home universities; however, they were skeptical about being able to fully implement the service-learning approach after only one training and without a community of practice with lecturers with similar experiences in their home universities. Originality/value: This study complements previous studies by adding a cross-national perspective of higher education lecturers. It underlines the importance of continuing training in didactics of university lecturers and a support network for the implementation of complex teaching concepts in higher education.

Purpose: Mezirow's theory of transformative learning aims to evoke change on a deeper level of learning. This qualitative study with 38 pre-service teachers enrolled in a Master's degree programme for teacher education in Austria used semi-structured interviews to explore how diversity skills can transform after diversity training applying Mezirow's theory of transformative learning. In these trainings, a disorienting dilemma was placed at the centre of the diversity training from which transformative learning took its start. Design/methodology/approach: In an increasingly diversified school system, diversity skills have become a pedagogical necessity for teachers in their future workplace. However, many teachers state not feeling adequately prepared for diversity within higher education and their attitudes towards diversity oftentimes remain unchanged despite diversity training. Findings: The findings were deduced from structured content analysis. They show that the diversity trainings led to new cultural frames of reference for the study participants on a cognitive and social level, but to a smaller extent on an emotional level. Originality/value: The study follows a different approach than "typical" diversity trainings through Mezirow's theory on transformative learning contributing to making a real change to preparing students for their workplaces in diversified Austrian schools.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the manoeuvring room of higher education institutions to take action to reduce emissions from academic flying. In particular, this study investigates how university staff and central actors in university management evaluate potential measures in this area. Design/methodology/approach: The authors applied a single case study design encompassing an online survey directed at staff (N = 338) and 11 semi-structured interviews with key actors from management at an Austrian university. The authors used descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis to examine the data. Findings: This study found considerable support among university staff in principle for implementing measures to reduce academic flying, but also serious concerns about the fairness and viability of some restrictive measures, especially disincentives and caps on flying. However, bans on short-haul flights were largely supported. Actors from university management saw their manoeuvring room limited by the potential resistance and non-compliance of staff, as well as by framework conditions external to the university. Practical implications: Dedicated leadership is needed to facilitate broad commitment within the university and to avoid shifting the responsibility between different governance levels. Restrictive measures to reduce academic air travel will be more readily accepted if perceived as fair and viable. Originality/value: Although several papers have addressed the behavioural and institutional factors that sustain extensive flying in academia, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first contributions to investigate the potentials and challenges of introducing measures to reduce air travel in higher education institutions.

Evidence indicates that children's personalities shape their interactions and relationships with others. This study aims to identify the relationship between child personality types and interaction quality in preschools, which is of high predictive importance for the development of children's competencies. Interaction quality was determined using the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS) in a sample of 181 children attending 61 preschools in Austria. After including control variables, our results indicated that children characterised as 'overcontrollers' and 'undercontrollers' had significantly less peer interactions, compared to 'resilients'. Furthermore, 'undercontrollers' tended to show less task orientation than 'resilients' and had more conflict interactions than 'overcontrollers'. Consideration of child personality offers opportunities to support children in their interactions with others to improve interaction quality in preschools.

In a constantly changing world, schools need to adapt. Difficulties, successes, and experienced challenges can be important driving forces for school improvement. This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situation and decision-making processes related to school improvement strategies in socially disadvantaged areas, where schools face particularly challenging circumstances. The study comprises data from 100 Austrian schools, that is, answers to open-ended questions in a survey. A mixed-methods approach was applied. The qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The data were processed, frequencies of themes were determined, and latent profile analysis was applied. The results show the diversity of challenges, difficulties, strengths, and development perspectives reported by schools. The results of the latent profile analysis indicate that there are different underlying profiles in the orientation of development perspectives towards strengths, difficulties, challenges, and/or not identified factors.

The paper begins with an overview of migration-related diversity in Austria and Ireland, both countries with high levels of cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in schools. Research in Europe indicates that migration produces a new context for teaching, for which many teachers do not feel sufficiently prepared. Hence, teacher education is at stake and rarely looked at systematically in migration-related research in education. Therefore, in this article secondary teacher education courses are analysed to ascertain how higher education institutions in these two countries are preparing secondary teachers for culturally responsive teaching. After describing the methodology used to examine the Initial Teacher Education curricula of the two countries an analysis of the research findings is provided. It turns out that relevant courses in the compulsory sections of the curricula are largely missing in both countries. Finally, based on an analysis of the literature and research findings, a discussion of the consequences for teacher education together with recommendations for improvement are formulated. It provides countries with a foundational discourse to equip student teachers with the necessary skills to embed cultural responsivity into their classrooms upon completion of their apprenticeship for teaching.

In this article, competencies of teachers for an age of migration where students with refugee and migration background are part of many classrooms are tied to the question why a current reform in initial teacher education failed to adjust to an urgent need. The country under scrutiny for this case-study is Austria. The focus is on the curricula of secondary teacher education. It had to be developed along the new Bologna architecture--a top-down requirement--and bottom-up filled with content by the teacher educators of the institutions involved in the reform. First, I will give a short historical and present-day sketch of migration and schooling in Austria in the light of international data and the comparative context integration theory. Secondly, I will discuss relevant topics in initial teacher education and present data from the TALIS 2018 survey. Thirdly, I will describe the reform of the initial teacher education in Austria and discuss four hypotheses why it did not manage to respond to the needs of today's socio-culturally, linguistically and religious highly diverse schools.

Interactions between preschool teachers and children, taking place in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions, have an enormous impact on child development. The quality and quantity of these interactions are crucial. This study aims at observing the actual behaviour of preschool teachers during their interactions with children in daily kindergarten routine under particular consideration of (1) different educational backgrounds and (2) different types of situations as factors of possible influence. A video investigation was conducted in 40 institutions with preschool teachers with different educational training levels, focusing on free-play and snack time as two different situations. Video recordings of these situations with a length of about 15 min each were screened, resulting in a sample of about 1200 min of transliterated video recordings. For the analysis, the video sequences were coded regarding quantitative and qualitative criteria. The results show statistical significance in interaction quality with regard to different situations.

The positive impact of warm and supportive relationships between children and preschool teachers on children's development has been highlighted in many studies. However, research gaps exist regarding the prediction of teacher-child relationships in preschool. In particular, little is known about associations between child personality and relationships with preschool teachers, although previous evidence indicates links between personality and social relationships in general. The study aims to address this research gap and identifies associations between child personality types and teacher-child relationships by using a sample of 163 children attending 65 preschool classes in Austria. After controlling for child and teacher characteristics, the results show that preschool teachers perceived less closeness with children characterized as "overcontrollers" and "undercontrollers" compared to children described as "resilients." Furthermore, the preschool teachers perceived their relationships as more conflictual with "undercontrollers" compared to "resilients" and "overcontrollers." Considering children's personality types seems to be important to improve teacher-child relationships.

University professors' collegiality has received far more attention in higher education research than collegiality among higher education students. Hence, this lack of research concerning higher education students' collegiality represents a research gap that this study aims to fill. The present study aimed at examining the contribution of personal characteristics and goal orientations to collegiality among higher education students. A total of 196 undergraduate students participated in the study. Path analysis revealed that different personality characteristics (gender, age, type of study program, years in college, and academic self-concept) and traits (Big Five and altruism) are related to goal orientations as well as positive and negative collegiality. Results are discussed regarding theoretical assumptions on pro-social development, measurement problems, and practical applications in higher education courses or trainings.

The study explores the extent to which linguistic globalisation and the ever increasing dominance of English shapes the perceptions of linguistic diversity in traditional sociolinguistic milieus. We set out to investigate the attitudes of 142 respondents from Vorarlberg, an Austrian province, towards their home dialects, High German, a local standardised variety, and English. While drawing on a verbal guise test (VGT) and a questionnaire as the main methods of study, we show that local dialects are viewed as badges of local identities, whereas standard German is appreciated for its utilitarian value. Remarkably, English emerges as a language of enormous social prestige with high levels of social attractiveness. English is further seen as a language allowing the inhabitants of Vorarlberg to connect to the larger world and become part of the global dialogue. We argue that rather than eroding the local cultures, English adds to the sociolinguistic fabric of traditionally diglossic societies, rendering their linguistic texture even more complex and enriched, not impoverished.

Purpose: Guided by paradox theory, the study aims to significantly advance Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions (SHEI) scholarship and inform change agents' (CAs) practices by uncovering the tensions underlying the challenges CAs face in embedding sustainability in their universities and learning about potential strategies to manage these tensions. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a multi-step, mix-methods study including interviews (n = 15), an online survey (n = 36) and focus groups (n = 29) with CAs from 17 of Austria's 22 public universities. Participating CAs consisted of faculty, staff and administrators with leading roles in their Higher Education Institutions' sustainability change processes. Findings: Austrian SHEI CAs' responses revealed 15 tensions at and between the individual, organizational and system level addressing academic, organizational and external stakeholder engagement aspects. Six tensions were selected for more in-depth exploration including elaboration of management strategies, building on CAs' experiences. Results revealed examples of acceptance, separation and synthesis strategies. Research limitations/implications: Based on the exploratory nature of our study, the authors do not claim to have identified a comprehensive list of tensions underlying the challenges faced by SHEI CAs, nor of all potential management strategies. Practical implications: Although this study focused exclusively on Austrian SHEI CAs, the challenges they shared were consistent with those in the literature and, thus, insights should also support the CAs' efforts in other countries. Originality/value: This study offers novel perspectives on how to manage the challenges to SHEI. To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first to describe paradox theory-informed management strategies recommended by a heterogenous group of SHEI CAs to address the barriers they face in transforming their universities toward sustainability.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate patterns in international travel behavior of scientific staff depending on the categories of gender, scientific field and scientific seniority level. The learning from salient differences possibly revealed may inform measures for reducing travel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially for high-emitting staff groups, and help strengthen the equality between scientists of different categories concerning their travel behavior. Design/methodology/approach: The study collected and used novel empirical data on travel GHG emissions from University of Graz scientific staff for five consecutive years (2015-2019) and used statistical analysis and inference to test and answer three distinct research questions on patterns of travel behavior. Findings: The travel footprint of scientific staff, in terms of annual GHG emissions per scientist, exhibits various highly significant differences across scientific fields, seniority and gender, such as male senior natural scientists showing ten times higher per-person emissions than female junior social scientists. Originality/value: The five-year travel GHG emissions data set across all fields from natural sciences via social sciences to humanities at a large university (Uni Graz, Austria, about 2,000 scientific staff) and across seniority levels from predocs to professors, both for female and male scientists, enabled a robust empirical study revealing distinct differences in travel GHG footprints of academic staff. In this way, the study adds valuable insights for higher research institutions toward effective GHG reduction policies.

This paper explores how three organisations collaborate to support organisations and individuals to act on the challenges of sustainability through action learning, each using its unique skills. It examines the roles of each organisation and how by moving from individual to a collaborative they could do things better and do better things. The paper describes the challenges of collaborating at an organisational and international level and gives examples of two projects where the skills and capabilities of each organisation came together to create a new future for a commercial organisation and community.

Taking the hasty implementation of 'German support classes' in Austria in 2018 as a starting point, I will lay out recent political developments in Austria similarly marked by speed, i.e. I will focus on language "integration policies" in more detail, which form a central concern for studies on bilingualism and bilingual education with regard to compulsory language learning in the context of migration policies. In order to understand the role of speed in this contemporary development (i.e. introduction and revision) of language integration policies, I will introduce speed as a theoretical concept, before turning back to what I will call the Austrian case of "politics of speed," which goes hand in hand with executive decreeing and a disregard of parliamentary democracy. As I argue in the concluding discussion, this has serious effects on institutions and the population, in the form of "institutional lag" and "systemic confusion." It is my aim to tease out how this politics of speed results in a culture of confusion that, in the end, could serve a political purpose.

Until now, TPACK has mostly been measured by subject-unspecific self-report measures. In contrast, this study introduces and analyzes an objective and biology-specific performance assessment of the four T-dimensions of TPACK. This instrument was used in combination with a biology-specific self-report measure to examine 206 biology teacher students at an Austrian university. Using two test instruments to measure the same construct allows direct comparison and increases validity. Structural equation models were calculated to analyze and compare the internal structure of the four T-dimensions within the two instruments. Although different test formats were used, for which the dimensions showed moderate correlations, the data for both test formats showed a similar internal structure and support a transformative view due to lack of direct influence of technological knowledge (TK) on TPACK.

This study explores the role of the welfare state in reducing young people not being in education, employment, or training (NEET)s across 15 European countries. Using data from the Survey of Adult Skills in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in combination with the Social Expenditure Database, we conducted cross-national analysis to reveal whether the increase in public social spending moderates the risk of being NEET at a young adult age, especially for socially disadvantaged young people. Our results highlighted that the rise of one percentage point of public social spending per gross domestic product, including social expenditure on education, active labor market, and unemployment, is significantly associated with decreasing the odds of being NEET. Furthermore, these social expenditures appeared to lower the NEET risk given socially disadvantaged backgrounds suggesting that young people with low educational levels, whose parents have low educational attainment levels, non-immigrant families, and females are likely to benefit given the robust social protection system. These findings suggest that public social spending may be an effective investment in promoting the social involvement of young people from socially disadvantaged background.

This study explores a pathway from social origin at adolescence to numeracy acquisition in young adulthood. A variation associated with vocational track attendance and numeracy acquisition between two different traditions of education systems is identified; namely, between education systems of German (Austria and Germany) and English (UK and US) speaking countries. Key results demonstrate that tracking at the level of upper and post-secondary schooling is closely related to skills gaps that affect labour market outcomes. This implies that vocational programme graduates achieve comparatively weaker in numeracy tests in German-speaking countries. In contrast, this effect of disadvantage in numeracy skills is not observed among young adults attending vocational tracks in English speaking countries. Also, the results suggest that a more stratified system might reinforce social inequality by increasing a skill gap in the use of numeracy in daily life. Drawing on empirical findings, the discussion underscores that policy interventions are necessary for mitigating the reproduction of skills inequality among young adults.

Post-pandemic, there is a growing recognition that higher education needs to take a more proactive role in addressing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals -- the 17 goals for 2030 that aim to balance global economic development with the need to tackle climate change and protect our natural ecosystems. This change of focus has profound implications for international higher education. For universities in countries like Australia, New Zealand and the UK, internationalisation has underpinned a successful business model. Recruiting children of wealthy elites in developing countries and charging them high tuition fees allows universities to invest in research and facilities and drive themselves up global rankings tables. But recruiting students from the Global South imposes an environmental cost in terms of the carbon footprint and perpetuates structural inequality. This article explores solutions to moving beyond the current business model and adopting an internationalisation strategy that prioritises social justice and environmental sustainability.

When learning about the particulate nature of matter (PNM), students tend to attribute the same properties to both particles and to the substances they compose. It has been argued that this might be explained by them categorizing the wrong ontological category. To explain the relationships between submicroscopic and macroscopic levels of matter, students need to understand the concept of emergence. Building on prior work, the authors propose that crystal structures might be a suitable context for the introduction of the PNM. As there is a close connection between the behavior of the particles and the properties of crystals, students can learn the concept of emergence and therefore gain a deeper understanding of the PNM. This study investigates students' learning about the PNM within the context of crystal structures following the methodological framework of design-based research. The aim of the study is the development of a prototypical teaching-learning sequence (TLS) on the PNM and to help developing local theories for teaching that subject. Throughout several cycles of designing and refining the TLS, a total of 40 interviews were conducted using the method of probing acceptance. Evaluative qualitative content analysis led to new insights into students' thinking about the PNM and allowed for further development of the TLS. For example, we found that salt and snow crystals were a more effective learning context than a scanning tunnel microscopy image of graphite for students to come to understand the connection between macroscopic and submicroscopic levels of matter.

What does a learning center for civic education do in a museum environment? How and why can democracy be taught in a museum? The Museum Arbeitswelt in Steyr, Austria, offers with its "Politikwerkstatt" a learning environment for people of different age groups where they can learn, discuss, and talk about democracy. This article shows the history of the Museum Arbeitswelt which was opened in 1987 and the reason why civic education is and has always been a part of the museums educational approach. In detail the genesis of the "Politikwerkstatt" and its offers, as well as the "Tunnel of Memory," another learning environment close to the museum are discussed. This article shows that a museum like the Museum Arbeitswelt can offer important educational offerings to ensure that our democracy will prevail in the future.

Museum communication spaces in art education enable a setting for education work that activates and involves the visitors. With appreciation, respect, and awareness, safe spaces for open communication are created. The text negotiates the framework of what we talk about, who determines and defines the negotiated topics. It is important to be aware that art educators always take a stance. In their work, they can no more act objectively than the museum can be neutral. It is only in this open communication space that it becomes possible to reveal facts, fiction, fakes, and alternative facts and to use the museum as a discursive social space.

Many studies have found associations between structural characteristics and interaction quality of children in ECEC settings. However, findings are inconsistent and since previous research has been conducted outside Austria, transferability to the Austrian country context is limited. By addressing this gap, the study aims to identify relations between structural characteristics and interaction quality (measured with the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System, inCLASS) of 161 three- and four-year-old children from 55 preschools in Austria. After including control variables, main findings revealed positive relations between adequate equipment and teacher interactions and negative relations between child-staff ratio, proportion of children with immigration background per preschool class, preschool teachers' work experience and peer interactions. Preschool teachers' job security was positively related to task orientation and poorer child-staff ratio corresponded with more conflict interactions. Higher work experience led to fewer conflict interactions. The results indicate that specific structural characteristics are associated with a higher interaction quality in preschools in Austria.

This article carries out a cross-European comparison of stakeholder perspectives on catering to diversity within CLIL programs. It reports on a cross-sectional concurrent triangulation mixed methods study with 2,526 teachers, students, and parents in 59 Secondary schools in six European countries: Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. It employs data, methodological, and location triangulation and carries out across-cohort comparisons in order to determine the differences/similarities which can be discerned between the measures implemented in northern, central, and southern Europe to make bilingual education a more inclusive reality for all. It also provides comparative insights into the main difficulties and chief training needs which still need to be addressed. The broader take-away is that CLIL provision, as it stands, does not fit the bill in the new mainstreaming scenario and needs to be reengineered to respond to the needs posed by educational differentiation. This pan-European outlook will allow us to determine where we currently stand on this issue and to showcase the main lessons which can be gleaned from different contexts in order to step up to one of the most important challenges facing bilingual education in Europe (and beyond) if we seek to ensure its sustainability.

This paper makes available to the broader educational community the instruments which have been originally designed and validated within the European project "CLIL for all: Attention to diversity in bilingual education" ("ADiBE") to determine how diversity is being catered to across a broad array of CLIL contexts in European Secondary Education (Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom). They include three sets of questionnaires, interviews, and observation protocols and are qualitative and quantitative instruments whose design has been based on the latest research and which have undergone a carefully controlled double-fold pilot process for their validation (external ratings approach and pilot phase with a representative sample of 264 subjects). The questions included in the three sets of instruments are initially characterized, together with their format and main categories. The paper then details the steps undertaken for their research-based design and the double-fold pilot process followed for their validation. The questionnaires and interview and observation protocols are then presented in a format which is directly applicable in any CLIL classroom in order to determine the accessibility of bilingual programs for all types of achievers and to identify the chief difficulties and best practices in promoting inclusion in bilingual education.

This article presents a case study aiming to encourage and support principals from six countries to work in Principal Professional Learning Communities (PPLCs) to enhance their leadership competencies and foster strong leadership for school development and teacher learning. We argue that the need for principals to participate in a PLC is a fundamental but also forgotten perspective in school leadership. Our most important findings indicate that the principals participating in a PPLC gained (1) enhanced leadership skills, (2) awareness of and security in their own leadership roles, (3) new knowledge about organisation and implementation of PLCs and (4) appreciation of the importance of PLCs. An added value was the benefit of meeting peers from different countries, which contributed to their reflections about their own school systems and practices. We argue that facilitation and support is important to establishing effective PPLCs and that external support may be considered to create a structure for and to strengthen the outcomes of PPLCs. We further argue that local authorities should reinstate or restructure these meetings so that principals can focus on teaching and discuss the subject with their peers. Data for the study were collected through pre/post-surveys, in-depth interviews, reflection notes and audio recordings of workshops, world cafe´ meetings, a SWOT analysis, and group discussions.

The use of the Internet among children and adolescents is now a norm in many parts of the world. As the Internet offers a wide range of benefits to these ones, so does it expose them to possible various risks and harm. Researchers in different countries across the world have engaged in the production of relevant research-based knowledge in order to make the virtual world a safe place for the younger ones. However, while studies have been carried out on the subject of Internet risk among children and adolescents, there is a dearth of information on the assessment of research activities across different parts of the world. The present study employed Bibliometric techniques to determine research productivity patterns across the different regions and countries of the world. All relevant publications indexed in Google Scholar were collected between November and December, 2018. The findings of the study reveal that while countries in the American and European regions of the world have been very productive in researching on the subject, the same is not the case with their African counterparts.

This paper presents the outcome of the research project WOODWORKING REVISITED. Within the framework of the two-year project, the two university teams collaborated with the Austrian Open-Air Museum Stübing and the Waldorf Vienna West School to document selected woodworking techniques on video. Formats and dissemination strategies were developed in a collaborative process including pupils and experts at all project stages. The formats were based on established content such as the "Nifty" style found on Buzzfeed (ref.) and further developed for the new immersive possibilities of 360° video. In order to compare the formats and test their efficiency, content produced in both formats was evaluated together with pupils of a technical school for woodworking. The team conducted a study that showed the suitability of both formats for the purpose.

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a key role in reducing early leaving from education and training, and integrating youth at risk in upper secondary education. To ensure that more young people complete upper secondary education, the OECD suggests designing interventions that address the specific needs of youth at risk such as changes in the standard duration, preparatory programmes or personalised support measures. Based on a comparative analysis of such programmes tailored to the needs of youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, the objective of this article is to identify the different education and training models these countries employ to include youth at risk in upper secondary education. Approach: The study is based on document analysis; the documents studied are public documents such as law texts and white papers from the education authorities as well as research publications. The interventions proposed by the OECD to adapt training programmes to the specific needs of youth at risk were chosen as a basis for the comparative analysis. Further structural characteristics of the programmes complemented the analysis. Findings: The study found four different types of education and training models for youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland: Short-track (Norway, Switzerland), prolonged (Austria), individualised (Austria, Norway and Sweden) and preparatory programmes (Sweden). Preparatory and prolonged programmes aim to help young people to achieve upper secondary qualifications through preparatory measures, more time or more support. Individualised or short-track programmes aim to adapt education and training programmes to young people's needs by reducing the programmes' demands. In all four countries, young people have the opportunity to conclude their education with a certificate at a level lower than 'regular' upper secondary education. Conclusion: The four countries surveyed differ widely in terms of educational traditions and the position of VET at upper secondary level. Regarding the integration of disadvantaged youth into education and work, the differences concerning access to upper secondary education, the importance of VET at upper secondary level and the recognition of training programmes for youth at risk may be of particular relevance. Further research is needed to empirically investigate the effectiveness of the identified education and training models as a means of integrating youth at risk into upper secondary education.

The aim of this paper is to clarify the effects of digital transformation on educational institutions and to outline the challenges that arise and need to be addressed in this context. Teaching and learning processes should be continuously developed due to changes in educational requirements as well as social and technological changes. Therefore, within this paper, these technological changes are described in the first step. In the next step, the challenges facing higher education institutions, as a result of digital transformation are discussed, and strategies for the further development of higher education, regarding digital transformation, are described. In this context, a research study that focuses on the self- assessment of the digital competencies of students is outlined and the results are presented. The first results emphasize the need for further development in technology-supported teaching and learning processes at higher education institutions. The implementation of technology-supported teaching and learning settings and the rethinking of present teaching content is seen as both a challenge and an opportunity for preparing students -- as well as lecturers -- for digital transformation. With regard to the current COVID-19 situation, this is a challenge that must be met sooner rather than later.

Almost every country in the world is obligated to implement education policies to enable an inclusive school system. However, implementing techniques to be inclusive in schools is a major challenge to teachers, especially to those teaching a subject at secondary level and higher. Most of the literature concerning inclusive science education was published in recent years, and is more normative than empirical. Teachers struggle to transfer these normative demands to their accustomed way of teaching science. In this study, we analyze conflicts a teacher experiences when teaching a so-called 'hard science' like chemistry at an inclusive school. On the one hand, inclusive science education should facilitate participation in science specific learning processes for all learners. This broad perspective on inclusion demands that everyone can take part in everyday classroom life. On the other hand, chemistry strives for the understanding of abstract concepts, theories and models, which forms a barrier to learning chemistry for many people. This paper presents an explorative case study focusing on these conflicting demands. To reconstruct the inconsistencies, we analyzed a videotaped teacher--student discourse on atoms. Using the documentary method, a qualitative approach developed by the sociologist Ralf (Bohnsack et al., 2010). distinguishing between explicit and implicit knowledge, it was possible to reveal the orientational frameworks guiding the teacher's actions. On the surface level, traditional scientific educational approaches structure the discourse. Reconstruction of the discourse is deep, as evidence was found for a participation-oriented framework as well as for the challenges the conflicting demands of chemistry and inclusive teaching put on teaching. We implicate that future professional development courses must not only concentrate on combining chemistry with inclusive pedagogies, i.e., how to teach, but also on the reflection of implicit beliefs concerning inclusive chemistry teaching.

Globalisation and digital technology have changed the means and mechanisms of knowledge acquisition. The rapidly expanding open-access online resources and various digital learning platforms present new opportunities in the area of continuous entrepreneurial learning, including that of corporate employees. This paper draws on knowledge spillover theory in order to explore the potential of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as enablers of knowledge exchange, consolidation and new knowledge creation through connecting geographically and institutionally distant actors. The research design is based on a qualitative interpretative approach exploiting a triangulation of methods by using sets of quantitative data collected from MOOC participants, five focus group interviews and text content of online course discussion groups. This study contributes to our understanding of how digital technologies enable entrepreneurial learning on a massive scale. It identifies three factors which can trigger intense horizontal knowledge spillovers on a massive scale: (i) participants' common interests and aspirations, (ii) induced mobilisation, and (iii) participants' optional anonymity. Additionally, the findings of this study provide useful information for potential MOOC creators regarding the design and delivery of MOOCs targeting a high density of participant interactions.

While substantial research focuses on genuine long-distance relationships, there is a lack of studies dealing with temporary long-distance relationships due to studies abroad. The present study with Austrian students tried to uncover differences between couples who terminated versus those who sustained their relationship during the exchange period. Participants (N = 119, 73.9% females, M[subscript age] = 24 years) were asked about perceived changes in the relationship due to their exchange experience, which they mainly spent abroad in Europe. Couples sustaining their relationship had more in-person contact. Thus, visits are essential for maintaining long-distance relationships during time abroad. In addition, participants still in their relationship after the exchange noticed different effects of changes on their relationship than did couples who separated.

The phenomenon of increasing tuition fees is one of the factors which reinforce the increasingly consumerist attitudes among students towards the product (understood as a whole process of university education) they receive from universities. The aim of the study is to characterise the difference between the expectations of students and the extent to which those expectations are met by universities. This analysis also focuses on the conditions that determine this perception of what universities offer and discusses selected issues concerning the relations between universities and industry. The findings demonstrate why creativity, apart from practical knowledge, is one of the most important aspects in the process of education, where a student's graduation work is aimed at solving specific problems in companies and institutions. In the empirical part of the paper, students' opinions about the importance of selected aspects of the education process are compared with the level of support provided by universities. The research covered 505 students of economics from 10 different countries. Their expectations of the educational process with regard to the majority of its aspects (apart from theoretical knowledge) proved to be higher than those of their universities. The findings of this research may thus be useful in formulating optimal study plans.

The dual system of vocational education is designed to balance education (in the educational institution) and training (at the enterprise level) equally in order to ensure the appropriate level of qualification, to teach and socialize the next generation. In addition to these effects (qualifications, education and socialization), the dual system enables the country to achieve economic goals (that is, economic growth) and social goals (that is increase youth employment); that is why many countries are trying to introduce elements of dual vocational education into their own national systems. The purpose of this study is to analyze the best international experience in implementing the dual vocational education system, identify strengths and weaknesses of this system and the issues that arise during the implementation of elements of the dual education system. Based on the analysis of cases from different countries, a matrix of implementation of dual education's elements in Ukraine and the world has been formed. Weaknesses of the approved Concept of training specialists in the dual form of education on the basis of the SWOT-analysis of the implementation of the dual education system have been identified and recommendations for its improvement have been formed.

The purpose of the scientific article is aimed at studying the features of students' competence formation at tertiary educational institutions by practical training aids. To reveal the purpose of a scientific article, methods of theoretical analysis and synthesis have been used (to study the theoretical framework of students' competence formation at tertiary educational institutions by practical training aids) and methods of comparison, grouping and concretization (to analyze and assess the practical results of students' competence formation at tertiary educational institutions by practical training aids). The practical results of the study are presented through: the results of assessing students' knowledge of Mathematics, Reading and Science, according to the PISA program; dynamics and structure of the number of students enrolled in tertiary education; the proportion of undergraduate students in% of the population at the age of 20-24 years old. According to the results of the PISA program, developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), it has been found that Austria, Belgium and Germany have the highest average scores in Mathematics, Reading and Science, compared to the average scores in OECD countries. It has been established that in Ukraine the average students' score in Mathematics in 2018 is lower than the average score in OECD countries by 21 points, in Reading -- by 36 points, and in Science -- by 20 points. In the course of the study it has been established that currently educators use the following practical training aids for the formation of students' competence in the learning process, namely: introduction of a modular academic program in the educational process, providing the necessary level of theoretical basis, implementation of introductory, educational, training, undergraduate practices, work experience internship in the educational process of students' training, application of information, innovation and interactive technologies in the educational process, teaching and training of students in accordance with the requirements of the labor market and employers, ensuring cooperation between tertiary educational institutions in the framework of student exchange programs.