Navigating the Implementation of the Curriculum Digital Education in Austrian Secondary Schools: Challenges and Teacher Perspectives

Abstract

For a considerable period, there was only a single year of compulsory Computer Science (CS) education in Austria that was required as part of a student’s academic career. The mandatory curriculum “Digital Education” (Digitale Grundbildung) was launched in September 2018 for all students in lower secondary education, formally integrating 21st-century skills into upper grades. The school’s management could choose to offer “Digital Education” as a stand-alone course or to include it in other classes. The 2022/2023 academic year saw the addition of an altered curriculum, where the subject was added to the normal timetable. Nonetheless, schools continue to deal with the problem of who is teaching what and how due to a staffing shortfall and a lack of instructional materials. This paper reports on experiences with the 2022 curriculum by evaluating a survey that examines the implementation of the mandatory curriculum “Digital Education” in Austrian secondary schools and the challenges that teachers face in navigating this new landscape. Aiming to do so, the qualitative data were interpreted, summarized, and discussed, whereas the quantitative data were analyzed in former papers. Despite the obstacles that emerged, teachers recognized the importance of digital literacy skills for their students and expressed a desire for more support in implementing the curriculum. The findings of this study have implications for policymakers, school administrators, and teacher training programs as they work to ensure the successful integration of “Digital Education” in secondary schools.