Instituto de Estudos Políticos
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Browsing Instituto de Estudos Políticos by Author "Adrowitzer, Iris Vera"
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- Politics of civic education in Austria : an ongoing debatePublication . Adrowitzer, Iris Vera; Coutinho, João PereiraThe present master thesis deals with the Austrian integration politics after the summer of 2015, when approximately 80,000 refugees crossed the country’s borders in order to apply for asylum. In an attempt to foster integration, the federal government introduced so-called Values and Orientation Courses that were supposed to inform newcomers about the host country’s norms and customs as well as historical, political and practical information regarding life in Austria. The courses’ content ranges from the fundamental values of the Austrian constitution such as democracy and the rule of law to the importance of human dignity and basic knowledge regarding education, health and economy. In 2017, the participation in these courses was legally anchored, thereby becoming a mandatory element within the country’s integration politics. This thesis is meant to a) present the courses’ content, b) replicate the public debate around their introduction as well as implementation and c) contribute to the discussion by looking into the liberal, secular and Christian moral as well as philosophical roots of Austria’s civic education politics. While the government and the courses’ supporters argued that the Values and Orientation Courses were an important element in guaranteeing social cohesion and prosperous coexistence, critics questioned their validity, backgrounds, intentions as well as effectiveness with regard to the integration process. The three-angled approach to this topic shall enable an overarching analysis that represents both the complexity as well as controversy of civic education policies in 21st century Europe.