Study: Summer School Should Especially Help Migrant Children

Recently, over 37,000 children and adolescents have taken advantage of the voluntary offer, which since 2022 has included not only learning support but also talent promotion. Attendance will continue to be voluntary, but for around 49,000 "extraordinary" students, it will be obligatory. According to a study, migrant children would particularly benefit from the summer school.

The final report "Competence Measurement in Summer School," commissioned by the Ministry of Education from the University of Passau, shows a greater need for support among children and adolescents whose first language is not German. Among the approximately 2,000 primary school students surveyed in 2024, those with a non-German first language significantly more often reported that they do not receive support at home for learning, attend tutoring, or have repeated a grade. While 85 percent of children with German-speaking parents said they receive support at home, it was only 76 percent for students with a first language other than German. Therefore, the summer school is an "important educational resource that operates independently of the support possibilities of the parental home."

Summer School: High Satisfaction

According to the study, which examined the cohorts of 2023 and 2024, the summer school has a positive effect on social integration and motivation. Satisfaction with the offer remains consistently high, and it has recently increased among children with a non-German first language. Primary school students gave good marks for the learning environment and support from teachers, especially among children with a non-German first language, where the formation of new friendships was also encouraged. In secondary education - the survey mainly involved students from middle schools and lower secondary AHS - the quality of teaching was also rated well: it is clear and well-structured, which positively affects learning outcomes, and is also considered effective by the students.

The summer school is also well-received by the surveyed teachers. The students and teachers teaching there - most of whom have been teaching for less than ten years - show motivation in the survey, and they also rate the teaching positively. For the study, over 1,000 teachers and around 7,000 and 8,000 students were surveyed in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Among the children, with the exception of Vienna, the majority had German as their first language, while in Vorarlberg it was about half.

Few Students with German Support Needs So Far

Students from German support classes or courses, who will be required to attend summer school in the future, have so far made little use of the support offer in the last two weeks of vacation. This summer, less than one-sixth of the extraordinary students (7,800 children and adolescents) were registered. At the same time, significantly more of them, 17 percent, did not attend classes despite being registered. With the summer school obligation starting next year, this will be considered a violation of compulsory schooling, and administrative fines of up to 1,000 euros may be imposed.

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) has announced that the concept of the summer school will be adjusted in light of the new main target group. Flexible groups will be used to tailor language support to their needs. The educational directorates will be able to flexibly determine the summer school locations based on regional conditions, and travel arrangements will be organized. School psychologists can also be requested for the offer in the last two weeks of vacation. To handle the expected doubling of participant numbers, teachers for German as a foreign or second language and retired educators will also be employed in the future. If necessary, teachers may also be required to teach in the summer school.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.