A development project was implemented with the University College of Teacher Education Burgenland under the direction of VR Univ. Prof. ⁱⁿ Dr. ⁱⁿ Catherine Walter-Laager; project period: 15.06.2020 to 30.09.2020.

Good quality in elementary educational institutions has many facets and shows a wide range of scope for design in everyday educational practice. The quality development project, which was carried out in cooperation with the University College of Teacher Education Burgenland, focuses on quality in the area of early mathematical education. This impetus was taken into account and a multi-part package of measures for quality assurance in this area of education was developed:

PART 1: Development of the Early Mathematics Education Scale
The aim of "_GrazIASMATH", an observation tool for measuring the quality of interaction, is to record key quality features of early mathematics education.

PART 2: In-service and further training materials
A dossier on the topic of "Bringing up early mathematical education" was compiled and four half-days of further training were developed with inputs and appropriate exercises. These repeatedly refer to theory-based quality features. The good-practice video sequences, which were also included, form an integral part of the training half-days, are the starting point for reflections and serve to illustrate or deepen the topic.

A study is being conducted with the University College of Teacher Education Burgenland under the direction of VR Univ. Prof. ⁱⁿ Dr. ⁱⁿ Catherine Walter-Laager; project start: 01.03.2020.

In the 2020/21 academic year, a further education offensive was initiated at the University College of Teacher Education Burgenland on the topic of "Everyday integrated language support". Among other things, this course aims to increase the quality of language-stimulating interactions and strengthen interaction-related skills in everyday teaching (University of Teacher Education Burgenland, 2019).

As part of an intervention study, the professionalization effects of the university course "Everyday integrated language support" were recorded by the Department of Elementary Education using a pre-post design with an experimental and control group. The surveys were carried out by means of observations (GrazIAS; two observation phases in the intervention and control group) and questionnaires (two online surveys in the intervention group; one online survey in the control group). Survey period March to October 2020.

Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Frauke Hildebrandt (Potsdam University of Applied Sciences) and Univ.Prof. Dr. Catherine Walter-Laager (University of Graz, in cooperation with PädQUIS), a joint research project was developed and carried out. The BiKA study used video recordings, among other things, to investigate the realization of the participation of young children in everyday life.On the one hand, the focus was on the ability of educators to recognize and react to the signals of young children, to accompany them sensitively and supportively, and on the other hand on their competence to shape ritualized key situations in everyday life at the daycare center in a participatory manner.

In many families, caring for young children outside the home is part of everyday life: the children are looked after in the crèche and gain many interesting and development-promoting experiences. This is where the study "Effects of interaction quality on crèche children" (EIK study) comes in and examines how the interactions in Austrian crèches between the specialist staff and the children are structured and how these affect the child's development in the first year of crèche.

Around 100 children from different crèche groups in Graz, Graz-Umgebung and Vienna will be observed three times (October, February, June) in the 2018/2019 crèche year. Standardized observation instruments are used to record the interactions between the teachers and the children as well as general quality standards. In addition, the children who have started this year are allowed to take part in a playful development test. A questionnaire for parents completes the survey. A further questionnaire is sent to all adults present in the crèche group.

Didactics and the methodological approach in elementary educational institutions form a central area in every learning setting. This applies to all education systems around the world. The aim of the study " Educational concepts of elementary educators using the example of mathematics in international comparison" ("BELMi 3-6") is to describe the educational concepts and performance expectations of elementary educators in mathematics for children aged 3 to 6 years in different countries. Elementary teachers from Switzerland, Austria, China (Shanghai) and Vietnam (Hanoi) are participating in the research.

The study consists of different elements. General educational ideas (Keller, 2011) are surveyed using a questionnaire. The educational ideas are examined in a qualitative setting. The elementary teachers are asked to provide a mathematical play and learning situation for children aged 3 to 6 years. This play and learning situation will be videotaped and evaluated. Subsequently, the elementary educators justify the didactic setting and reflect on the educational understanding behind it. In addition, the performance expectations of the elementary teachers are examined using the example of children's mathematical skills by means of a questionnaire.

More information can be found here.

A total of seven different institutions from Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary and Austria worked on developing a European seal of quality for the elementary education sector. The seal of quality for kindergartens and crèches, which after the end of the project will primarily serve to make the quality of education and care facilities visible to the outside world and support quality assurance, is seen as an important development in terms of high-quality education and care work in elementary education.

The aim is for all EU countries to have access to a "uniform" seal of quality, thereby improving, making visible and maintaining quality throughout the EU.

The main results can be found on the project homepage.

Further information on the project and the training series can be found at https://www.gesundaufwachsen.at/

Project and management: SUPRO - Health Promotion and Prevention, Vorarlberg

Early intervention services vary in different Swiss cities, as do access facilitation measures and mandatory legal requirements for participation in a measure. To date, it is largely unclear how families - especially socially disadvantaged families and families with a migration background - perceive the state's supportive approach.

The study examined the use (or non-use) and benefits of services from the parents' perspective. This was done comparatively across different municipalities and cities.

You can download the study here.

Based on numerous studies in the field of early language education, a wide variety of strategies can be derived to support children's language acquisition. The project extracts the most important strategies for promoting language education in everyday kindergarten life and prepares them for practical application. The project "10 steps to reflecting on everyday integrated language education" encourages educational professionals to reflect on strategies for everyday integrated language education using short specialist texts, guided tasks to try out in practice, checklists and video examples. In this context, the quality of interaction in your own groups can also be improved.

Information and materials can be found here.

It is a transnational project that examines the quality of institutional education, care and upbringing of infants and toddlers aged zero to two years in Austria and the city of Zurich. The aim of the project is to develop and ensure the quality of the education, upbringing and care of infants and very young children in institutional facilities, particularly in play situations. Videos including a methodically prepared accompanying booklet (with reflection and practical exercises for staff in child education and care facilities) are intended to form a bridge between the guidelines and the implementation of the criteria in practice.

The films and further information can be found on the homepage Krippenqualität.uni-graz.at

The booklet accompanying the study can be found here.

Evidence-based criteria were derived on the basis of an extensive, systematic literature review of impact studies in the areas of health, social affairs and education as well as several workshops with experts from the scientific community, interest groups and practitioners. The guide highlights early intervention services for all families - especially families in challenging circumstances.

You can find the project report here.

The transdisciplinary project In-DIG-developments aims to better understand the effects and changes triggered by COVID-19 at 41 schools in Styria by analysing how Austrian primary and secondary schools in different contexts use the associated experiences and discussions regarding inclusion and digitalization to change teaching design and school development processes during and after the crisis.

Accordingly, the central research questions deal on the one hand with prerequisites and thus also with questions about the burdens and coping strategies of the people involved, their practices, strategies for action and approaches to solutions and, in relation to this, with the challenges, limits and barriers they have experienced. Contextual conditions and, in particular, characteristics of the diversity of the student body are given special consideration through sampling and background surveys.

In this context, based on a representative standardized survey of students, parents, teachers and school administrators and with the help of supplementary qualitative formats (focus groups and interviews with students, parents, teachers and school administrators), scientific findings on barriers and models for inclusive, digitally supported teaching and learning environments are to be gained and made available to the scientific community and the broader school public as examples of good practice.

The study is being realized with financial support from the Province of Styria (GZ: ABT08-135363/2020) and from the University of Graz's own funds and will run for a good year and a half (Oct. 2020 - Feb. 2022). It is being implemented under the direction of Univ.-Prof.in Dr. Heike Wendt and Univ.-Prof.in Dr. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera together with the Institute of Ethics and Social Studies and the KPH Graz.

• Project management:
  • Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr.ⁱⁿ phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera (FZIB)
  • Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr.ⁱⁿ phil. Heike Wendt (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Empirical Educational Research)
• Project participants:
  • Caroline Breyer, PhD MSc Bakk^.a phil. (FZIB)
  • Franziska Reitegger, BA MSc (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Inclusive Education and Special Educational Psychology)
  • Melina Tinnacher, MSc. (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Empirical Educational Research)
  • Mag. phil. Dr. Thomas Gremsl (Institute for Ethics and Social Studies)
  • Prof^.in Mag^.a Dr^.in Martina Kalcher, Bakk^.a phil. MSc. (KPH Graz)

An Austrian-French study of educational policy frameworks and local practices.

In an increasingly interconnected world, there is a growing need for teacher education institutions to address the emerging challenges of increased openness and cross-national and cross-institutional collaboration fostered by the Bologna Agreement and the broader Europeanization process. Teacher educators, including those who actively support the (formal) learning of student teachers and teachers, are key actors in opening up the education of future teachers internationally and globally. The study examines educational policy frameworks and local practices of international professionalization of teacher educators in Austria and France. The study is led by Dr. Vasileios Symeonidis in partnership with the Institut National Supérieur du Professorat et de l'Éducation (INSPE) at the University of Aix-Marseille in France and is funded by the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (OeAD) under the WTZ funding agreement FR 03/2021.

GRAZiL - Internationalization of teacher training & video case archive. Model project for the internationalization of teacher training at the University of Leipzig and the Karl-Franzens-University Graz. The aim of the project is to establish a multi-subject university cooperation between UL and UG for the qualitative and quantitative promotion of student mobility

"Development and testing of innovative methods for the establishment of research-education cooperations on the topics of climate change and sustainability in Austria", 01.01.2020-07.2023

The aim of the mAc research-education cooperation is to integrate climate protection and sustainability into education and everyday life, thus contributing to the transformation of society. mAc aims to raise awareness of the challenges of the 21st century, enable people to shape their living environment in a self-determined way and stimulate them to act in the interests of sustainable development. Pupils and teachers are accompanied by scientists and students in constructivist and participatory formats (project lessons|climate week|phenological observations|peer-to-peer _training|CO2 balancing) to independently deal with topics related to climate change. The heart of mAc, the scientific monitoring, evaluates the effectiveness of the formats and methods in order to establish them effectively in Austrian schools in the future. mAc provides the impetus for a development process that is continued independently by the schools.

How does the project contribute to a more liveable world?

The Global Grand Challenges, of which climate change is one of the most pressing, require a paradigm shift with new ways of thinking and working, commitment and attitudes geared towards sustainability goals. mAc supports their development through cooperation and joint learning between different actors (see above). Climate change and sustainability topics are researched in their own environment, and in (local) projects the participants shape their own liveable environment.

How is education rethought in the project?

mAc formats are based on various approaches (constructivism, conceptual change, participation, transdisciplinarity) that are not new, but are not yet sufficiently applied, especially in KW education. mAc serves as a platform through which universities cooperate with schools to develop structures for transformation in the sense of ongoing cooperation. The scientific support enables the continuous further development of these and the mAc formats.

How are the target groups involved in project implementation?

The participation of different disciplines, universities, schools and school types is both a challenge and an enrichment. For the successful implementation of the formats, an individual design in cooperation between the mAc team and pupils, students and teachers is therefore equally crucial. Creativity and initiative are therefore not only required for individual learning processes, but also in the planning and implementation of the formats, and are lived by the team.

What makes the project special?

Pursuing your own sustainable project ideas, learning with like-minded pupils, students, teachers and scientists, being self-directed and active in transforming the (school) community, having the feeling of being self-effective - that's what makes mAc special. mAc offers these experiences not only to participants, but also to the mAc team, which is characterized by the continuous exchange of didactic, scientific and psychological expertise.

(DiCoTe) - Digitalization in teacher education, 01.09.2020-28.02.2023, funded by Erasmus+

The following institutions will participate in the planned Erasmus+ project "Digital Competences in Teacher Education" (DiCoTe)

• Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany)
• University of Tartu (Estonia)
• University of Graz (Austria)

All project partners have identified digitalization as a major challenge for all stakeholders in the education system. Particularly in the school sector, educational processes must be geared towards preparing students for a self-determined and responsible life in a digital world. The DiCoTe project focuses on the European exchange of best practices in the field of digitalization in teacher education.

The main task of all institutions is to prepare future teachers for the new and changing challenges of digital transformation. Digital media is changing learning and teaching. The teaching structures that student teachers are familiar with from their own experience are being re-evaluated and changed. The role of the teacher may also change. The teacher training program must meet this new requirement profile and consequently be adapted to the changed conditions. The project partners bring very different experiences in tackling these new challenges and an exchange of good practice is sought between the partner institutions as they already have extensive experience and best practice in the respective field.

Despite different levels of research and development at each university, all project partners face the challenge of finding answers to the question:

• What characterizes good university teacher training in order to best prepare graduates for the design of new educational processes under the conditions of digitality?

In order to investigate this question and identify success factors for successful teacher training, the following topics will be examined in coordination with the different strengths and needs of the partners:

• The basic and additional services required for the development of digital competencies of student teachers
• The involvement of lecturers in media didactics and technical support in teacher education
• Necessary curriculum adaptations that support innovative teaching-learning concepts and connections between theory and school practice

For each of these areas, team members can contribute with best practice examples and thus share their experiences in an exemplary way. The meetings not only enable a theoretical exchange, but are always accompanied by school visits that illustrate the link between theory and practice. The main objective of the DiCoTe project is to compare the core task of teachers - the targeted and scientifically sound planning, organization and reflection of teaching and learning processes as well as their individual assessment and systemic evaluation - with regard to the implementation of digital approaches among teachers as well as the training in the educational systems of the participating partners in order to reflect their effectiveness under different conditions.

This exchange will result in teaching scenarios that illustrate how each university builds the digital competence of student teachers and develops new teaching and learning scenarios at the respective universities, as well as deriving scenarios that are identified as key features for successful implementation of their own university and teaching scenarios in practice to support student diversity, autonomy and participation. The project will focus on the exchange of experiences between the actors in a mutual exchange. In addition, the partners would like to make their shared experiences and examples available to teachers internationally and will therefore document the project work transparently and publish the results as OER (Open Educational Resources).

The English version you can find here: "Digital Competences in Teacher Education" (DiCoTe)

Project on the social media behavior of young people in cooperation with the ÖAW, the University of Innsbruck, the University of Graz and HFDT doctoral program, funded by the ÖAW

How social media consumption can be shaped more consciously

Young people experience distorted digital realities and polished beauty ideals on social media. With the support of educational researcher Kathrin Otrel-Cass from the University of Graz and innovation researcher Matthias Kettemann from the University of Innsbruck, young people have drawn up tips and demands to make their consumption of Instagram and co. more conscious and reflective. As part of the workshop, content creator Lisa-Marie Schiffner and education researcher Markus Meschik gave short keynote speeches to provide inspiration. The interview with Markus Meschik is here.

Kathrin Otrel-Cass writes a follow-up report on the results in the STANDARD blog.

In an online workshop organized by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) as part of the Colloquium Digitale series, 18-23-year-olds from Austria collected tips on self-help and created a video message.

In the workshop, the participants also designed a"How To Manual" that provides tips and advice for young people on sustainable social media use.

This workshop was designed by Kathrin Otrel-Cass, Professor at the Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education at the University of Graz, and Matthias C. Kettemann, Professor at the Institute for Theory and Future of Law at the University of Innsbruck and involved in the doctoral program "Human Factor in Digital Transformation at the University of Graz", and is a cooperation between the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Graz and the University of Innsbruck.

Digital storytelling in climate education with four EU partners, 01.09.2019-31.08.2022, funded by Erasmus+

Digital storytelling in climate education

In the "Change the Story" project, a team of researchers from the University of Graz is investigating how and in what way the topic of the climate crisis and climate change is dealt with in schools in the context of digital storytelling. The aim of this three-year Erasmus+-funded research by the Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogy in cooperation with partners from Italy, England, Hungary and Turkey is to share digitalized and creative stories about climate change by secondary school students with children from other EU countries on a common Moodle platform.

Global movement of pupils
The "Change the Story" project is intended to "motivate young pupils to join a global movement, raise their voices against the climate crisis and make their personal contribution with an individual digital climate story", explains project manager Prof. Dr. Kathrin^Otrel-Cass from the Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogy^. However, "schools and institutions from the education sector can also network with each other by taking part in this project" and together set an active example against climate change, says Otrel-Cass.

Digitalization as inspiration
Pedagogical teaching concepts for digitally supported climate lessons are also being developed and exchanged worldwide for mutual inspiration. A particular focus here is on digital preparation technologies for lessons, digital teaching technologies during school lessons and general access to the topic of "global warming" in the classroom.

Registration now open
All interested school directors or teachers can register for free participation in the "Change the story" climate project with Julia Mayr^. Head of department Prof^. Kathrin Otrel Cass has been working for more than 20 years in the fields of "Innovation in teaching and learning research" with a special focus on digital media and science and technology education, "Classroom research" with a focus on ethnographic field research, cultural and social anthropology and "Research at the interface between society and technology" with expertise in educational videography.

Link to the project website

Cyber security app for digital skills, 01.01.2020-31.03.2022, financed by Zukunftsfonds Land Steiermark

Digital skills training for children and young people

One of the most important skills in the digital age is responsible behavior in dealing with information and communication technologies (ICT). This development of skills should begin in schools in order to give young people a basic digital education in ICT before they enter the world of work, so that they can develop the ability to act competently against cyber attacks and prevent them from developing the wrong routines. "Digital? Sicher!" ("Digital? Safe!") follows on from this and aims to develop and evaluate a playful learning app for cybersecurity and data handling awareness training for young people in grades 9 to 13.

The two-year project, funded by the Province of Styria, is being carried out by the Karl-Franzens University of Graz (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education and CSR Center for Social Research) in cooperation with BANDAS (Center for Business Analytics and Data Science), the Know Center (Research Center for Data Driven Businesses & Big Data Analytics) and Logo Jugendmanagement GmbH from 2020 to 2022.

Link to the video

For interested schools/teachers:
We offer you the opportunity to participate with your school in the development of this innovative learning app. Your students will be actively involved in the development of the app and in this way learn about the process of developing an app as an additional skill beyond the content taught.

Participation requirements:

1. Interest of at least one class from grades 9-13
2. Vocational secondary school (HAK, HLW, HTL) or AHS

If you are interested, please contact: Mag. Michael Fasching, bakk. (phil), Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Elisabethstraße 41/EG, 8010 Graz, 0316/380-3827, michael.fasching(at)uni-graz.at

Project team "Digital? Safe!": Alfred Wertner (Know Center, TU Graz), Analia Cicchinelli (Know Center, TU Graz), Eva-Maria Griesbacher (Center for Social Research, Uni Graz), Michael Fasching (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Uni Graz), Viktoria Pammer-Schindler (Know Center, TU Graz), Martin Griesbacher (Center for Social Research, University of Graz), Stefan Thalmann (Business Analytics and Data Science Center, University of Graz), Kathrin Otrel-Cass (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogy, University of Graz), Thomas Doppelreiter (Logo Youth Management), Johannes Zeiringer (Business Analytics and Data Science Center, University of Graz).

Educational pathways and social inequalities of student teachers, 01.07.2019-31.12.2021, financed by the project funds for "Heterogeneity in the teaching profession 2", target and performance agreement of the University of Graz

To the project website

PocketEthoLab for science education, 01.10.2019 - 30.09.2020, funded by Horizon2020/FET Launchpad

Analyzing Temperature Effects with a mobile and precise gradient device

In the "ATEMPGRAD" project, a device is to be further developed that enables the teaching of biological learning content and relationships in nature in a dialog between learners and organisms. The aim is to evaluate and test the prototype of an experiment kit that is to be used for school purposes. The "ATEMGRAD" project is a cooperation with the Institute of Biology and the Institute for Pedagogical Professionalization at the University of Graz.

Experiments in the classroom
The PocketEthoLab will enable inexpensive, stable and versatile experiments in the subjects of physics, chemistry, biology, geography and mathematics. These experiments can illustrate relationships in nature and thus make theoretical content easier to understand by means of concrete, practical experiments. Temperature differences are relevant for many obvious topics such as states of matter, plant growth or the activity of insects. However, the device can also be used in a targeted manner for more complex topics that are less obviously concerned with small, local temperature differences, such as evolution, climate change or industrial production processes. The complexity of the experiments and the increasingly difficult questions can be adapted to different age groups. The tool should therefore be suitable for use in almost all school levels.

From cold to warm: linear gradients
Technically, the PocketEthoLab allows the flexible creation of temperature patterns. Both linear gradients from cold to warm and complex temperature environments can be set. A prototype of this tool is already being used in university teaching, with a clearly focused area of application (ethology of insects). In the project, it is essential to identify the requirements of everyday school life and to define the requirements of the teaching device: Where are the best educational applications? How much should such a device cost? And is there enough time and interest for such a tool in school lessons in Austria? These findings will then be used to create an optimized prototype that can already be used for testing purposes in a school environment.

To the project website

Scholarships for two master's theses from the HFDT network (Human Factor in Digital Transformation) on the topics "Virtual learning environments - digital materials from museums" and "Artificial intelligence in teaching - increasing learning success with a chatbot", 07.09.2020-07.02.2021, funded by the BANDAS Center and the Center for Information Modeling at the University of Graz

Empowering teachers across Europe to deal with social, emotional and diversity related career challenges

Initial situation

In their profession, teachers need to respond competently and flexibly to day-to-day challenges as they arise. They have to cope with a working environment that is becoming increasingly complex for a variety of reasons, including the increasing diversity in the classrooms. To provide support to teachers across Europe, EU reports and international research identify the following areas of demand:

(1) Teaching in a changing and diverse setting;

(2) Promotion of teacher collaboration;

(3) Supporting teachers’ careers;

(4) Participation, focus and efficiency of continuing professional development;

(5) Addressing the needs identified by the teachers;

(6) Supporting teachers social and emotional competencies.

The project

The project "HAND IN HAND: Empowering teachers across Europe to deal with social, emotional and diversity related career challenges" (short: HAND:ET), funded by ERASMUS+ ("Support for Policy Reform"), is a European project involving 11 partners and 13 associated partners from seven countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Portugal).  

HAND:ET will address the aforementioned areas of demand by developing an innovative, universal programme from March 2021 to February 2024 that aims to promote Social and Emotional Competencies and Diversity Awareness (SEDA) among teachers. Another focus in the programme is on teacher well-being. The aim is to show how the development of SEDA competencies in combination with a mindfulness-based approach can support teachers' self-care.

HAND:ET identifies teachers' SEDA competencies as critical future competencies that will prevent them from leaving the profession early and empower them to plan and pursue their careers, create effective teaching and learning environments, support a positive school climate, and promote their own and their students' well-being. The development of SEDA competencies in teachers is expected to have a positive impact on the development of such skills in students.

The HAND:ET programme follows a holistic model approach and will be implemented as a whole-school-whole-year support system. It consists of a set of innovative participatory activities and learning experiences that – together with regular/continuous supervision, monitoring and support – build the HAND: ET System.

The HAND:ET system includes:

• The HAND:ET programme for teachers, principals and counsellors
• Ongoing supervision and monitoring
• Activities for students to be implemented by teachers and monitored by trainers.

To be able to support and supervise schools, six to nine trainers are trained in each participating country through an extensive Train the Trainer (TTT) programme. The TTT consists of an online MBSR course (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction; duration: 8 weeks) and another six training days, in which the participants deal with SEDA competencies.

Scientific monitoring

The HAND:ET project aims to contribute to the formation of a comprehensive EU teacher policy, addressing contemporary structural challenges of the teaching profession in a long-term and evidence-based way. It will be tested by using a quasi-experimental design with control groups (before/after effects) in five consortium countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden, Austria, Portugal), teachers (primary and lower secondary) being the direct target group. Additionally, principals and school counsellors will be also included. Students will also benefit indirectly via teacher empowerment.

The results of the project will be summarised in guidelines and provide EU- and country-specific recommendations, addressing contemporary structural problems of the teaching profession.

Researchers:

• Univ.-Prof.in Dr. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera
• Mag.a Mestre Lisa Paleczek, PhD
• Mag.a Christina Odescalchi, (eh. Oswald), MSc
• Valerie Fredericks, MSc
• Project controlling and administration: Heidi Kinast, MA

Seven trainers from the University of Graz were involved in the implementation of the project:

Trainers:

• Mag.a Christina Odescalchi, MSc
• Valerie Fredericks, MSc
• Dominik Pendl, MSc
• Daniela Ender, MSc
• Michaela Wright, MSc
• Jessica Berger, MSc
• Katharina Prinz, MSc

Partner Organisations:

• Educational Research Institute, Slovenia (project coordination)
• Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Slovenia
• Ministry of Science and Education, Croatia
• Board of Education Styria, Austria
• DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, Germany
• Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
• University of Graz, Austria
• Mid Sweden University, Sweden
• Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
• Aarhus University, Denmark
• Network of Education Policy Centres, International

International meetings

The kick-off event of the project took place on 09.04.2021 as an online conference. A first project meeting was planned for 25-27.05.2021 in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and was held online due to Covid-19-related restrictions. All further project meetings took place in person again (with the option of online participation). These were held from 15-17.09.2021 in Graz (Austria), from 17-19.01.2022 in Zagreb (Croatia), from 17-19.05.2022 in Sundsvall (Sweden), from 30.11.-02.12.2022 in Aarhus (Denmark) and from 06-08.11.2023 in Lisbon (Portugal).

Homepage of the project:

https://handinhand.si/en/

Inclusion through digital school development - barriers and solutions as a result of COVID-19

The transdisciplinary project In-DIG-developments aims to better understand the effects and changes triggered by COVID-19 at 41 schools in Styria by analysing how Austrian primary and secondary schools in different contexts use the associated experiences and discussions regarding inclusion and digitalization for a change in teaching design as well as for school development processes within and after the crisis.

Accordingly, the central research questions deal on the one hand with prerequisites and thus also with questions about the burdens and coping strategies of the people involved, their practices, strategies for action and approaches to solutions and, in relation to this, with the challenges, limits and barriers they have experienced. Contextual conditions and, in particular, characteristics of the diversity of the student body are given special consideration through sampling and background surveys.

In this context, scientific findings on barriers and models for inclusive, digitally supported teaching and learning environments are to be gained on the basis of a representative standardized survey of students, parents, teachers and school administrators and with the help of supplementary qualitative formats (focus groups and interviews with students, parents, teachers and school administrators) and made available to the scientific community and the broader school public as examples of good practice.

The project is financially supported by the Province of Styria and will run for one year and five months (Oct. 2020 - Feb. 2022). It will be implemented under the direction of Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera and Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr. Heike Wendt together with the Institute of Ethics and Social Studies and the KPH Graz.

Project summary

The project poster can be found here.

Project management: Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr^.in phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera (FZIB), Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr.ⁱⁿ phil. Heike Wendt (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Empirical Educational Research)

Project participants: Caroline Breyer, PhD MSc Bakk^.a phil. (FZIB), Franziska Reitegger, BA MSc. (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education, Inclusive Education and Curative Psychology), Lea Hochgatterer, BSc MSc.(Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Training, Inclusive Education and Curative Education Psychology/FZIB) , Melina Tinnacher, MSc. (Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Training, Empirical Educational Research), Mag. phil. Dr. Thomas Gremsl (Institute for Ethics and Social Studies), Prof^.in Mag^.a Dr^.in Martina Kalcher, Bakk^.a phil. MSc. (KPH Graz)

Contact: Lea Hochgatterer, BSc MSc.

The project is realized with the financial support of the Province of Styria and own funds of the University of Graz.

School assistants play a key role on the path to an inclusive education system. They accompany and support children and young people with various disabilities in school and extracurricular settings and make a decisive contribution to the successful education of these pupils. Without this measure, many pupils would not be able to attend a mainstream school (Laubner, Lindmeier, & Lübeck, 2017). School assistants support pupils in their learning, enable all-day supervision in many schools and assist teachers and parents. In addition to learning support and assistance with everyday activities, supporting social inclusion and thus promoting social relationships between children with and without disabilities is also an important task. Although the field of activity is very comprehensive, scientific findings indicate that school assistants do not consider themselves to be sufficiently qualified and lack the skills to accompany and support children with disabilities and enable inclusion (e.g. Dworschak, 2012; Laubner et al., 2017). It is therefore necessary to develop qualification programs for this group.

Building on the predecessor project IMAS I, in which a common service description of the assistance service was developed taking into account national differences(EASPD, 2018), the follow-up project IMAS II aims to meet the need for training by developing web-based knowledge boxes. These knowledge boxes are to be offered in a blended-learning format and address practically relevant topics (autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, multiple disabilities, learning difficulties, legal basis for inclusion and understanding the role of school assistants). This is intended to offer school assistants a quick and free opportunity for self-determined further training, independent of time and location.

You can find our knowledge boxes here.

By including the perspective of children with and without disabilities as part of a participatory research approach, the needs of the children are to be included in the development. The evaluation of the impact will be carried out together with school assistants, pupils, teachers and parents.

This Erasmus+ project aims to contribute to quality improvement and long-term quality development of school assistance, thus enabling the success of inclusion in the school sector. The project consortium consists of three universities and six partner organizations, coordinated by the University of Graz, Department of Inclusive Education and Curative Psychology.

Project summary

Project summary

Here you will find our newsletters, which inform you about the current project status:

1st newsletter, November 2018(German / English)

2nd newsletter, June 2019 (German / English)

3rd newsletter, November 2020 (German / English)

4th newsletter, April 2021 (German / English)

Please also visit our project homepage

Partner organizations:

• University of Graz, Austria (project coordination)
• Chance B, Austria
• CSIE, UK
• ARCIL, Portugal
• University of Coimbra, Portugal
• EASPD, Belgium
• Agency VISION, Bulgaria
• TENENET o.z. Slovakia
• University of Trnava, Slovakia

Project management: Univ.-Prof^.in Dr. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera

Project collaboration: Caroline Breyer, Bakk. MSc. PhD, Julia Lederer, BA MSc.

Contact person: Caroline Breyer, Bakk. MSc. PhD

"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."

Social problem-solving skills and CT in 4th and 5th grade pupils

Digital skills are becoming increasingly important as digitalization progresses in all areas of life. Therefore, these skills and the associated computational thinking (CT) must be addressed and promoted in the school context. However, focusing on this area must not lead to other fundamental skills of pupils (SuS) taking a back seat. This applies in particular to social-emotional skills and their promotion in everyday school life, as interaction in school classes is also influenced by the individual abilities of each pupil.

'Scratch Options! ' attempts to build this bridge so that the promotion of digital and social-emotional skills are not mutually exclusive, but rather build on and complement each other. By programming interactive stories with the very clear and child-friendly programming language Scratch (graphical building block system) around social-emotionally challenging situations and their solution options, the project aims to promote pupils' social-emotional skills and simultaneously their CT.

The aim is to develop, test and evaluate a form of joint promotion of these skills (CT and social-emotional skills) in the classroom so that teachers can draw on evidence-based interventions. The content (social-emotionally challenging situations) should address specific challenges in the classroom and thus enable tailored interventions.

In particular, the following aspects should be addressed:

Social-emotional challenges in the classroom context

• identify social-emotionally challenging situations from the perspective of pupils and teachers
• Reflect, verbalize, discuss and argue these situations in small groups
• identify and develop solution options for these situations

Using Scratch with pupils

• playfully developing and teaching the functions and possibilities of the Scratch programming language
• visualizing socially and emotionally challenging situations and solution options in the form of interactive stories using Scratch

Evaluation and transfer

• Analyze effects on both CT and social-emotional skills and specific interactions
• examine the transfer of social problem-solving skills to the classroom climate and social interactions
• Evaluate long-term effects

Develop measurement instruments

• develop, pilot and validate specific measurement instruments for CT, social-emotional skills, classroom climate, etc.

In a first step, the 'Scratch Options' project focuses on pupils in the 4th and 5th grades, as the social challenges in these two age groups are very different. Between the 4th and 5th grades, the Austrian school system undergoes a drastic transition process from elementary school to secondary school. The school context is very different at these two school levels, particularly in terms of social interactions and performance requirements.

Concepts for workshops will be developed in which (a) social-emotionally challenging situations and solution options will be worked out in a participatory manner with children and (b) the link between Scratch and social-emotional skills will be tested. Subsequently, a prototype of the intervention will be developed, which will subsequently be implemented and evaluated both nationally and internationally.

Partner organizations:

• FZIB
• University of Graz

Researchers:

Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, Katharina Maitz, Lisa Paleczek

Master theses: Claudia Danielowitz, Katharina Deutsch, Sophia Kefer, Michael Strobl

Master's students from the SE Empirical Research Methods in Inclusive Education (Ricarda Derler, Esther Feiertag, Arnela Hadziomerovic, Olaa Hamoud, Katherina Koch Waldner, Nina Kowarik, Birgit Lukitsch, Tanja Nuster, Lisa Pint, Lena Prenneis, Florian Quinesser, Miriam Tuider)

Contact persons: Katharina Maitz, BA. BA. MA. PhD, Ass.-Prof.in Mag.a Lisa Paleczek, PhD

RegiNaDiff: Regional, sustainable and differentiated teaching: Starting the green transformation in school

RegiNaDiff aims to impart knowledge about a sustainable way of life in 4th and 5th grade. A modular system (editor) is being developed with which teachers can enrich and digitize their own differentiated texts on regional sustainability-related topics with vocabulary work, tasks and reading strategies. The materials that are created and evaluated in the project are to be made accessible and expandable for all teachers (through the editor) so that they can be used in inclusive lessons. The students work with the created materials in project weeks and carry out topic-related hands-on projects. The aim is to give the pupils a better understanding of sustainability-related topics, such as animal, nature and environmental protection, renewable energies, regional food supply, waste avoidance and responsible use of resources.

Duration: 11/2021 - 10/2022

The homepage of the RegiNaDiff project (Regional, Sustainable, Differentiated in the Classroom: Starting the green transformation in school) is now online and the first teaching materials are available here.

Partner organizations:

• University of Graz (Lead)
• Private Augustinum University of Teacher Education ( PPH Augustinum)
• Wohlhart Learning Software
• Research Center for Inclusive Education ( FZIB)
• as well as associated partners from the fields of education and sustainability(Saubermacher Dienstleistungs AG,Zero Waste Austria,Repaircafé Premstätten,Repaircafé Graz,Umwelt-Bildungszentrum Steiermark,Klimaregion Anger & Floing)

Researchers: Ass.-Prof.in Mag.a Mestre Lisa Paleczek, PhD, Daniela Ender, MSc, Ass.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dipl.-Sprachwiss^.in Susanne Seifert, PhD, Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr.ⁱⁿ Mag^.a Martina Kalcher, MSc, Prof. David Wohlhart, BEd

Further information for teachers can be found here.

Regio-Diff: Getting to know the regions of Styria: Differentiated subject teaching materials for inclusive lessons in the fourth grade

Knowledge about one's own region forms the basis for further knowledge acquisition, such as about democratic principles, participation in democratic organization, or knowledge, areas and constructs beyond national borders (such as Europe or the EU). Only when children can experience their surrounding world, interact with it and acquire knowledge about it are they able to help shape decisions. For children, their own region represents a "space for action and design" (Thiedke, 2005, p.219). On the one hand, the immediate regional environment offers a manageable counterpart to larger social structures and, on the other hand, regional expert knowledge offers a very good starting point for a competent examination of far-reaching content that reflects the economic, ecological, cultural, political and social framework conditions and their diversity (Thiedke, 2005). Dealing with the region plays an important role at both primary and secondary level. In both cases, this examination is closely linked to the pupils' reading skills (Fix & Jost, 2005).

The RegioDiff project ("Getting to know the regions of Styria: differentiated subject teaching materials for inclusive lessons in the fourth grade") is funded by the Province of Styria and carried out by the KPH Graz in cooperation with the University of Teacher Education Styria, the University of Graz and Wohlhart-Lernsoftware e.U.. RegioDiff aims to prepare and impart regional knowledge. Differentiated factual texts that deal with the special features of Styrian regions will be developed in the 2019/2020 school year together with pupils in the 8th grade using cooperative learning methods in interdisciplinary lessons and will then be used in the 4th grade in the 2020/2021 school year.

Phase 1: Year 8 in the 2019/2020 school year

In the 2019/2020 school year, 2-4 school classes (8th grade) will be selected from different regions of Styria. In these classes, pupils will use cooperative learning methods to write factual texts about regional characteristics. In some cases, the work is also interdisciplinary (cooperation between German, history, biology or geography).

In order to support the participating teachers in this process and offer a platform for exchange, participating teachers take part in three SCHÜLFs.

Phase 2: 4th grade in the 2020/2021 school year

In the summer semester of the 2020/2021 school year, 2-4 school classes (4th grade) will be selected from 5 different regions in Styria. In these classes, pupils will work on the texts about regional characteristics in four differentiated reading levels within approx. 10 lessons. Half of the classes will work with digital and the other half with print materials in order to find out what is better accepted by the children and teachers and what achieves a higher learning performance. Among other things, elements of vocabulary work and reading strategy work are important components of the concept. In preparation for and during the process, teachers will take part in three training courses on the topics of reading diagnostics, differentiation and vocabulary work in subject lessons and reading strategies.

In addition, a digital reading test for third and fourth grade will be developed as part of the project.

All materials (reading test, factual teaching texts) will be freely available after the end of the project.

You can find the RegioDiff homepage here.

The project can also be found on facebook and Instagram.

Procedure of the project

Partner organizations:

• PPH Augustinum
• PH Styria
• Wohlhart learning software

Project management and contact person: Ass.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Mag.^a Lisa Paleczek, PhD (Univ. Graz)

Deputy project manager: Daniela Ender, BA MSc.

Reaching the hard to reach: Inclusive responses to diversity through child-teacher dialogue

This project aims to develop effective strategies for including all children in lessons, particularly those who are hard to reach, such as migrants, refugees and disabled students. It will achieve this through the use of a model of teacher professional development that emerged from the findings of an earlier study funded by the EU. The model combines a well-established approach to professional learning, known as 'lesson study', with an emphasis on listening to the views of students, which is a distinctive feature of the model. Most importantly, the model facilitates dialogue between children and teachers in order to develop inclusive responses to diversity.

Project summary

Read our newsletter:

• ^1st newsletter , February 2017(german / english)
• ^{2nd newsletter} , July 2018 (german / english)
• ^{3rd newsletter} , October 2018(english)

Project partner:

• Coordinator: Kiki Messiou,University of Southampton
• University of Graz
• Aarhus University, UK
• University of Algarve, Portugal
• University Autonoma Madrid, Spain
• ElementarySchool Schönau Graz, Austria
• Niva Primary School, Denmark
• Wordsworth Primary School, UK
• Agrupamento de Escolas Pinheiro e Rosa - School in Faro, Portugal
• colegio publico aldebaran - School in Madrid, Spain

Project coordinator in Austria: Univ.-Prof^.in Dr^.in Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera

Co-worker and contact person: Ass.-Prof.in Mag.a Lisa Paleczek, PhD, Mag^.a Edvina Bešić, PhD, Julia Lederer, BA MSc

"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."

The practice of awarding special educational needs (SEN) in Austria represents an interface in the further development of an inclusive education system. Therefore, this project, which is a commissioned research on behalf of the BMBWF, aims to analyze the processes involved in the decision of an SEN. As part of a mixed methods design, (1) expert interviews (including with managers in the education directorates, diversity managers), (2) a survey of parents, teachers, school administrators, diversity managers, (3) an analysis of special educational reports and finally (4) an analysis of secondary data will be carried out. The project is characterized by close cooperation between the researchers and the respective education directorates as well as with persons and institutions involved in the SEN allocation process in all nine federal states.

Project partners:

University of Graz, University of Innsbruck, University of Vienna, PH Burgenland, PH Carinthia, PH Lower Austria, PH Upper Austria, PH Salzburg, PH Styria, PH Vorarlberg, PH Vienna, KPH Edith Stein, PPH Augustinum, Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)

FZIB researchers:

University of Graz: Univ.-Prof^.in Dr.ⁱⁿ phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Timo Lüke, Sabrina Kahr, BA MSc, Andrea Kogler, BA MSc

PH Styria: Prof. Dr^. Andrea^Holzinger

PPH Augustinum: Prof. David Wohlhart, BEd

Contact: Univ.-Prof^.in Dr^.in phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera

Duration: 06/2022 - 09/2023

You can find the project report here.