The curriculum for this is controversial, as shown by comments received as part of an evaluation. It is sometimes criticized that too much computer science education should be taught or too little.
With the first three classes, the new subject will start in the autumn in those years that should already be equipped with inexpensive laptops and tablets by the ministry as part of the digitization offensive. From 2023/24, the fourth grades will be added, “Basic digital education” will be taught with one hour per week. The topic is not entirely new – until now it has been taught as a mandatory exercise (i.e. without grades).
According to the draft, the new subject is to be promoted on three tracks – namely media skills, application skills and IT skills. The topics range from coding and protection against malware to recognizing fake news and ecological problems in the field of digitization.
Criticism of the design comes, for example, from the head of the working group that did the preparatory work for the curricula. “Unfortunately, some things have changed in the framing and specification of the compulsory subject that was not the intention of those who created the curriculum,” writes Petra Missomelius, deputy head of the Institute for Media, Society and Communication at the University of Innsbruck.
The subject was deliberately designed to be interdisciplinary
The subject was deliberately designed to be interdisciplinary. “Unfortunately, this balance has been massively shifted in favor of IT education in the changed curriculum,” says Missomelius. “This is not plausible and takes the potential of the subject ad absurdum.” If the curriculum were designed like “Computer Science 2.0”, primarily computer science teachers would teach the subject. “However, in order to take into account the broad social relevance, it is important that this is a subject that can also be taught by teachers of language, geography/economics, art education, etc..” Media education and (critical) media competence are also neglected in the Chamber of Labour, while IT content and application skills would dominate.
The criticism of the Chamber of Commerce is diametrically opposed: The present draft has “more to do with teaching media skills than with real IT skills, which companies urgently need,” said Alfred Harl, chairman of the Association for Management Consulting, Accounting and IT (UBIT). , in a broadcast. The Federation of Industry wants the subject to be renamed “Computer Science and Digital Basic Education”.
Curriculum “overloaded”
In general, the curriculum is “overburdened” for a one-hour school subject that is also to be taught at secondary schools, says the IT department at the University of Vienna. The new subject should therefore focus on IT education and design skills, media education should be dealt with in the context of other subjects.
The educational scientist and chairman of the Federal Association of Media Education, Christian Swertz, conversely agrees with Missomelius’ criticism. He, too, locates too much technology orientation in the curriculum. In addition, the technical content mentioned in it would largely correspond to the computer science curriculum anyway. “This introduces a subject with the same content again. That’s pointless.”
Source: Nachrichten
