National Council decides on comprehensive offensive for language support in daycare centers!

National Council decides on comprehensive offensive for language support in daycare centers!

Intensive discussions in the National Council show increasing unity about the importance of elementary pedagogy in Austria. On April 25, 2025, two initiatives of the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS were presented, which are aimed at a "quality and expansion offensive" in elementary pedagogy. The unanimously accepted concern underlines the importance of kindergartens for the future of the children. In the politically different landscape, however, there was also criticism, especially of the freedom that reject the introduction of a second mandatory kindergarten year.

Freedom MPs want to avoid a program that should only apply to children with inadequate knowledge of German. This criticism is accompanied by the demands of the Greens, which indicate both the acute lack of personnel in kindergartens and demand stronger German funding. A majority in the National Council supports the idea of expanding German funding in schools and kindergartens. The expansion is also required as part of the Initiative of the FPÖ to improve the educational opportunities for children with language support.

language support and education

The debate about the linguistic development of children has also become more important in elementary pedagogy. In the context of current challenges, it is important to distinguish between the terms language support and linguistic education. According to the specialist article on kindergarten pedagogy.de, language support is a targeted support for specific linguistic skills, while linguistic education represents continuous accompanying language appropriation in everyday life. This differentiation must be observed, particularly in times of growing language development disorders.

Reality in daycare centers shows an increase in children with voice problems, including from German -speaking families. Despite existing funding programs at the federal and state level, these problems have not decreased. It is emphasized that direct care to children is crucial for healthy language development. However, the digital transformation and the increased use of smartphones make direct interaction between parents and children considerably more difficult.

Next steps and recommendations

The Federal Government has announced that the Minister of Education is responsible for improving quality in elementary education, with the Return of Education Return to the recommendations. This includes, among other things, the introduction of language stand surveys at the beginning of the penultimate kindergarten year and the planning of summer schools that are to be expanded to include language support measures.

The discussion within the National Council illustrates the different views regarding integration policy, whereby the free criticism of the proposals expresses, while ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS support the planned steps. In order to reduce the appearance of language development problems, a cultural change in pedagogy is necessary, which focuses on the strengths of the children instead of their weaknesses.

Overall, it can be seen that it is not just about expanding offers, but above all about improving the framework conditions so that children receive the necessary support in order to learn German and to be able to develop linguistically. The National Council has announced a "large package" to improve the integration of children in order to meet the challenges of linguistic education.