Professional paper

Yugoslav Children in Viennese Schools

Branka Vegar ; Yugoslav supplementary school, Vienna, Austria

Abstract

According to an Austrian survey, Yugoslav citizens temporarily residing and working in the province of Vienna belong to the lowest social category. Their children generally attend Volksschule, sometimes they get as far as Hauptschule (higher forms of elementary school), and they are “regulars” in Sonderschule (special schools). Viennese elementary schools' endeavours are directed at the children's integration into the school and the host community, without simultaneously dismissing the idea of their possible future reintegration in their home country. But the young foreigners' assimilation does not seem to be at issue, at least not pronouncedly.
Since our children's attendance at Jugoslawisch-Kurs (the school jargon relating to Yugoslav supplementary education in their mother tongue) is not compulsory, and they seem to find the grammar of their mother tongue – which may happen to be their first second language in actual fact – too complicated anyway, they frequently choose not to attend mother-tongue classes. Hence a dilemma as to whether it would be better to create attractive multimedia programmes of instruction in order to enable young migrants to master their mother tongue while still abroad, or to encourage their return to the homeland for further education.

Keywords

children of migrants; education; integration; Vienna

Hrčak ID:

128770

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/128770

Publication date:

31.10.1986.

Article data in other languages: croatian

Visits: 1.013 *