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Formal education
Formal structure of the Austrian educational system
Knowledge is acquired both through unconscious (such as learning by doing) and through active learning processes during school education, vocational training and continuing education. Active learning processes are usually initiated within an institutional framework and success is formally confirmed by examinations. The formal structure of the Austrian educational system is shown in the following diagram (available in German only, figure in PDF):
Education starts long before school attendance becomes compulsory. The lowest level of education (ISCED 0) includes various child-care facilities such as crèches, kindergardens or nurseries. Attendance at these facilities is voluntary.
In Austria, as in most other countries, compulsory schooling begins at the age of six. Most children attend primary school, although a small proportion of school-age children attend special schools. School-age children who are not ready for school are taught in the pre-school level of primary schools. At the transition from the four-year primary level to the lower secondary level (ISCED 2), the general education system is divided into three types of schools: academic secondary schools, lower secondary schools and special schools. Special schools comprise both primary and lower secondary levels.
The lower secondary level ends with the eighth school year and is followed by the upper secondary level (ISCED 3), which offers four different options: academic secondary schools, higher technical and vocational colleges, intermediate technical and vocational schools and the pre-vocational year. The pre-vocational year acts as a kind of bridge between the four-year lower secondary level (first stage) and entry into working life (in order to comply with the requirement of nine years of compulsory schooling) or entry into the dual system of vocational education (attendance at a vocational school and apprenticeship with a company).For most children, compulsory schooling is completed at the end of the ninth grade. However, if a child had to repeat a particular year he or she is able to leave school earlier.
At tertiary level (ISCED 5) university, Fachhochschule
or post-secondary college are
available. The secondary school leaving certificate (MATURA) or other
certificated gained through special examinations (i.e. the Berufsreifeprüfung) allow
students to gain access to tertiary education. The tertiary level has
been significantly expanded in recent years, partly as a result of the
introduction of Fachhochschulen and also
due to the Bologna Process. This entails degree programmes being
divided into bachelor programmes, which generally last for 6
The highest formal academic qualification, the doctorate, can be attained at ISCED level 6.
