School Autonomy – A Scientific Term, Politically Used as an Umbrella Concept

Description

The present paper reports the findings of an analysis of school autonomy (redistributing decision making powers and responsibilities in the Austrian school system) in the public discussion of the daily press. It discusses the implications of the findings while considering and comparing different concepts of school autonomy in political party programs and position papers as well as the actual international state of educational research on school autonomy (e.g. Altrichter, Brauckmann, Lassnigg, Moosbrugger & Gartmann, 2016; Gartmann, 2015). International scientific discourse claims predominantly that decisions about educational reforms should be evidence based (or at least informed). It is less considered that educational policy makers also have to take into account public opinions as well as their own political interests, in order to estimate the reception of and the support for the reforms (by population, political opponents and certain interest groups). In a field such as (school) education, which is currently intensively discussed in public and in the clash of different interests and ideologies, it is particularly important for policy makers to legitimize their own position and to strengthen their credibility (compare the analysis of PISA as an educational policy event by Tillmann, Dedering, Kneuper, Kuhlmann & Nessel, 2008). Therefore, this paper outlines the positions of the stakeholders of the current media discussion about school autonomy in Austria by answering three questions:

Period	23 Aug 2016
Event title	EERA
Event type	Conference
Location	AustriaShow on map