Linz (OTS) – When the children arrive in Upper Austrian school classes tomorrow, Monday, there will be no trace of normality: Partly shift work, partly home schooling, immense learning delays, parents’ concerns about the children’s health. And of course the sword of Damocles of a new lockdown soon. For AK President Dr. Johann Kalliauer is clear: “Education policy and schools are massively challenged. They have to support the children in learning, increasingly also individually, create new support offers and ensure the safety of children and teachers.
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A survey by AK Upper Austria in three survey waves between April and November 2020 shows the increasing uncertainty of parents: The longer the children are taught in Corona mode, the more and deeper the parents’ worry lines become. They complain about learning backlogs, feel stressed by the difficult balance between childcare, learning support and work and are increasingly concerned about the health of their children.
- Around half of the parents believe that the children now have to learn more in order to make up for the learning deficits suffered in the past and this school year.
- Four out of ten parents find the lack of compatibility a burden.
- A third are worried about the health of their children.
In the autumn, 60 percent of parents stated that the schools did not support their children, or not enough, to catch up on the subjects they had missed. Most of the mothers and fathers had to act as teachers in addition to their parenting role and their job. One fifth of the parents stated that their child needed tuition due to the Corona-related failures.
For AK-President Dr. Johann Kalliauer a good and important step. Because the corona pandemic makes it clear that school is not only a place for acquiring knowledge, but also a place of social contact, freedom for children and adolescents and at the same time the place of care that enables parents to work. “It must therefore be ensured that the school can be a safe place to learn and work for the pupils and teachers
“, Says the AK president.
Kalliauer demands from the educational policy a sufficient expansion of the support offers, the afternoon care and all-day school types. This is also in the interests of the parents, as the AK surveys show: 95 percent would like more free special tuition during the school year, 83 percent want more offers for afternoon care and 60 percent are in favor of expanding all-day schools.
Inquiries & contact:
Chamber of Labor Upper Austria
Dr. Walter Sturm
communication
+43 (0)664/54 55 984
walter.sturm@akooe.at
ooe.arbeiterkammer.at
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