We are …

The Austrian PBOe, Interessensvertretung privater, nicht-konfessioneller Bildungs- und Betreuungseinrichtungen Austria, is an association of 28 independent schools. Currently, these schools represent about 1.000 families with over 1.100 children. The number of learners per school ranges between 10 and 150, the supervision ratio (number of teachers per learner) is around 10. 200 learning facilitators are permanently employed by the schools, in addition to numerous working hours (varying from school to school) invested by parents and additional supporters. The schools are located throughout Austria, from Vienna to Vorarlberg, in large cities as well as in rural communities. All schools are non-profit initiatives of committed citizens.

What makes us special … 

Although the schools work on the basis of different alternative pedagogical models, they have one thing in common: They focus on the needs of the individual learner. They all follow the whole school approach, which means that important decisions are taken democratically and jointly by school leaders, teachers, learners and parents (in so far as they are directly affected). The schools are well integrated into their local environment. External experts support the practical learning processes of the children and the children make a lot of trips into the “world” around them. The institutions are a perfect example for “school autonomy”: They decide independently on all aspects of everyday school life: from the choice of the school location to the selection of teachers, from didactic to budgetary control, everything is in the hands of the school management or the school community.  

Our mission …

Independent schools are an important and valuable complement to the public school system as well as to denominational private schools. They bring diversity into the Austrian educational system and they understand themselves as “research and development department”: Many pedagogical methods and approaches developed in independent schools have found their way into the public school system. The declared aim of the PBOe is to anchor independent schools as the third pillar of the education system in Austria and to ensure secure funding for schools. This guarantees that every child in Austria receives the best education.