New study

Europe? Tutoring needs for Styrian students

The EU Commission in Brussels

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

How fit do Styrian student teachers feel to be able to teach European education in our schools in the future? This question is at the heart of a recent study in which 627 future teachers took part. First of all: there is still a need for tutoring!

 

The financial crisis of 2008 turned into a debt crisis, 2015 was dominated by the refugee crisis, 2020 saw a turning point with the coronavirus crisis and 2022 was shocked by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. We have been in crisis mode for years - and children are particularly affected. They not only ask a lot of questions at home, they also want to learn more about the multiple conflicts in their environment at school.

How do student teachers at Styrian universities, i.e. our future teachers, view Europe in these times of crisis? Do they get enough knowledge during their studies to be able to teach history and political education later on?

Professor Britta Breser with the study

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

Desire for more European education
Questions like these were put to students of humanities subjects and geography in a study conducted in Styria between December and March. The result: there is still a need for extra tuition! In many cases, knowledge about Europe stems from their own school days or comes from traditional media.

Although the vast majority would like to tackle the topic in class, they still feel insecure at the moment. "The students need support, the difficulty lies in the complexity of the topic," reports study director Britta Breser, who researches and teaches at the University of Vienna and Graz, to the "Krone".

Questions from the study

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe)

Also interesting: only 18% of the study participants stated that they had already spent at least two months outside of Austria as part of their studies, schooling, vocational training or work. Of these, only eight percent had traveled during an Erasmus stay. "The curricula for teacher training courses are currently being revised. We see the study as an opportunity to integrate European education more strongly," says the professor. Furthermore, schools should not "close the door to current issues" and should not only deal with the topic of Europe before EU elections, for example, but on a permanent basis. 

Amon: "Anchoring Europe in schools"
Werner Amon, State Councillor for Education and European Affairs, has certainly given his support: "My aim is to bring Europe to Styria. That's why we need to anchor European education in schools and also train students and teachers accordingly."