Suche
Greens urgently demand more school psychologists for our children!
The Greens call for an improvement in school psychology in Austria, initiated by increasing psychological needs of students: inside.
Greens urgently demand more school psychologists for our children!
In Austria, the situation regarding psychosocial support for children and adolescents is still inadequate. The green education spokeswoman Sigrid Maurer demands more pace in expanding school psychology and criticizes the existing care key. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the ideal care key should be 1 to 2,500, while Denmark implemented it significantly better with 1 to 800. Maurer describes the situation as unsatisfactory and emphasizes that 30 social workers for 400,000 pupils are "bare mockery". The current key from 1 to 13,000 is not portable.
A "confusing jungle of competence" between the federal, states and the municipalities makes the situation even more difficult. The Minister of Education Martin Return has "neither overview nor strategy" with regard to psychosocial support for students: inside, Maurer criticizes. Responsibility are currently divided between the federal states, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs, without a central body for coordination and monitoring.
New measures and initiatives
From 2026, workshops on the subject of "psychosocial support and mental health" will be introduced at all schools. These measures are part of the "Stark School, Strong Society" initiative, which is supported by a doubling of the budget to four million euros per year. In addition, the Ministry of Education plans to double the positions in school psychology from 190 to 390 by the end of 2027 to react to the growing requirements of the students.
An immediate reaction to the increasing psychological stress is urgently required, especially in view of stressful events such as the killing spree in Graz. In addition, from autumn 2025 a nationwide school social work will be established, starting with 30 positions at general education higher schools (AHS) and secondary and higher schools (BMHS). This initiative provides to add another 25 jobs the following year.
Focus on psychosocial health
The WHO defines psychosocial health as a state of well -being, which enables individuals to exploit their skills, to cope with life stress and work productively. Psychosocial health is essential for well -being, and school conditions play a crucial role. Support and fair treatment have a positive effect, while conflicts and lack of appreciation can represent negative influences.
As part of the child and youth health strategy, the promotion of psychosocial health is sought as one of the 10 health goals in Austria. This strategy was developed by the Ministry of Education and aims to strengthen resilience in the school environment. However, the results of the WHO HBSC study show that the life satisfaction of the pupils decreases with age and more girls suffer from mental symptoms than guys.
In summary, it can be said that the need for action in school psychology is greater than ever. In order to offer the students the necessary support to the pupils, nationwide measures need to be taken to promote psychosocial health in everyday school life.
For further information on the topics of school psychology and psychosocial health, the reports and plans on [Kleine Zeitung] (https://www.kleinezeitung.at/service/newsticker/2011965/gruene-for- Mehr-Tehr-von-schulpsychology), School.at as well as health.gv.at.