U.S. Teaching Assistantships at Austrian Secondary Schools
- Allen Evans, U.S. Teaching Assistant 2008-10
Program Background and Objectives
Since 1963, this program has provided college and university graduates with the opportunity to work as teaching assistants in secondary schools across Austria. U.S. teaching assistants not only enhance the instruction of English from a linguistic perspective; they are also valuable resources for first-hand information about the "American way of life" and representatives of the United States. This program is financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture, and applications are administered by the Austrian-American Educational Commission (Fulbright Commission). Although the participants in this program make a substantial contribution to the fulfillment of the Fulbright mandate of promoting mutual understanding between the peoples of Austria and the United States, this teaching assistantship program is not a Fulbright Grant Program.
- Kristen Baumgartner, U.S. Teaching Assistant 2007-09
Description of Position
US teaching assistants are expected to work independently in a wide variety of institutional settings all over Austria. They are assigned to different kinds of schools in communities large and small. They must have the capacity to negotiate cultural differences and to solve problems that arise on a day-to-day basis.
US teaching assistants are assigned to one or two Austrian secondary schools and required to assist teachers of English in classroom instruction for 13 hours per week. No two USTAs have the same experience, however, some of a USTA's weekly duties might include team-teaching a lesson with an English teacher, discussing a topic from the text book with a small group of students, engaging in one-on-one conversation practice with pupils, helping all or part of a class review for a test, designing and teaching a unit on an aspect of US culture or current events and various other duties, depending upon the needs of the students and teachers.
Applicants should have at least a Bachelor's degree and be interested in careers in education. Prospective teachers of German or TESOL and/or graduates with a documented interest in Austrian studies are particularly encouraged to apply. A working knowledge of German is required and necessary to facilitate classroom work.
Placement
The Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture works with provincial schoolboards to place approximately 140 U.S. teaching assistants at schools in all nine Austrian provinces. USTAs are present in more than 200 schools and 400 classrooms in any given week, during which they have contact with an estimated 40,000 students.
Applicants may request to be assigned to particular city or region, however, the number of teaching positions available in larger metropolitan areas, such as Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, and Innsbruck, is limited. Applicants should therefore be prepared to teach and live in smaller, more rural communities.
- Rebecca Lynch, U.S. Teaching Assistant 2008-09
Duration
U.S. teaching assistants are employed from October 1 - May 31 of the school year. They are required to attend an orientation seminar held during the last week of September before beginning their assignments. U.S. teaching assistants with a superior record of performance may apply to have their assistantships extended for a second year.
Remuneration
Teaching assistants receive a monthly gross salary of about €1,300 from which deductions for compulsory health and accident insurance and Austrian income tax are made, resulting in a net salary of ca. €1,050.- (approximately $1,450). Teaching assistants do not receive any additional support for travel to Austria or for dependents.
Some Aspects of the Austrian School System Worth Noting
Early Tracking
Perhaps the largest difference between the Austrian and the American public secondary school systems is that Austrian children are placed in a specific academic or vocational track quite early-- as young as 10. As you probably know, in the American school system most students remain in a uniform college-bound liberal arts program at least until high school graduation, and then pick a major in college. However, Austrian students are divided into two major groups after the completion of 4th grade (which ends the primary school, or Volksschule). At that point, a child, usually advised by his/her parents, chooses between the Gymnasium, the university-preparatory track, and the Hauptschule, which has a more vocational focus.
Gymnasium
The Gymnasium continues from American grades 5 through 12 (though numbering starts over at the beginning of Gymnasium, so these are Austrian grades 1-8.). The Gymnasium generally follows a liberal arts model, though there is more focus on 'core subjects' rather than electives as compared to an American high school. At some Gymnasiums the students can focus on a particular field of study, such as languages or natural sciences, while continuing their general education. At the end of a student's Gymnasium years, the student takes a rather intense comprehensive school-leaving exam and is granted the Matura certificate, a diploma of sorts which enables the student to study at any Austrian university.
The Gymnasium is referred to as an Allgemeine Höhere Schule (AHS) because it provides a general education for those who will presumably proceed to university and pursue professional careers. There is also a second branch of secondary schools that grant the Matura called Berufsbildende Höhere Schulen, or BHS.
BHS
After the first four years of Gymnasium or Hauptschule (see below) (American 8th grade/Austrian 4th), students can elect to leave the AHS's general curriculum to attend a BHS. In a BHS, the student completes the general education necessary to receive the Matura and continue on to university, while concurrently completing vocational training in a specific field. Students at a BHS generally spend an extra year in secondary school (graduating at 19), as their vocational training requires extra coursework.There are many different BHSs, which train students in fields ranging from electrical or biomedical engineering (HTL), the hospitality and tourism industries (HAK), to kindergarten teaching (BaKip) and many more. Upon graduation, the students can continue to university or work in the field for which they have been trained.
Hauptschule
The Hauptschule continues for another 4 years after the Volksschule, along the same lines as the Gymnasium but with a more vocational and less academic focus. Upon completion, a student can choose to transfer to an AHS or BHS to get the Matura and become eligible for university. However, more typically students from the Hauptschule go on to the Berufschule and Lehre, where they receive further training in their field while performing an apprenticeship. There are over 250 recognized trades in this track, ranging from optician to hair stylist, to printer.
USTAs
Teaching assistants assigned by the Fulbright Commission only work with students who have completed at least their 4th American grade year. TAs will either be assigned to some sort of Gymnasium, or to one of the many 'flavors' of BHS.
For a graphic representation of the Austrian school system, please see this graphic from the OEAD, one of our partner institutions.
The Austrian Educational System
For more information, please see the OEAD's detailed description of the Austrian school system.
- Peter Loetscher U.S. Teaching Assistant 2006-08
- Elizabeth Hanson, U.S. Teaching Assistant 2006-08
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