In response to the growing plurality of student languages, Austrian authorities introduced a novel language support model in the 2018/19 school year (BMBWF, 2019). As part of the language support model, students who do not meet a certain language proficiency level in the language of instruction are mandated to participate in German language support classes (i.e., GLSC). Previous studies with teachers and school principals have shown that GLSC are associated with considerable organizational difficulties, have a negative impact on the educational biography of pupils and that there is a lack of empirical evidence with sound arguments or justifications (e.g. Spiel et al., 2022). To expand current knowledge about the perceived feasibility, effectiveness, and legitimacy of GLSC, this study, building on Bleidick’s (1985) theoretical framework, examines the perspectives of nine public administrators from different Austrian federal states. Preliminary results of a reflexive thematic analysis according to Braun & Clarke (2022) indicate that participants perceive strong differences in terms of feasibility between urban and rural regions. In particular, the participants report inadequate facilities and an insufficient quantity and quality of staff in rural schools, which is consistent with the findings of Schwab et al. (2023). Concerning urban schools, participants point to difficulties for teachers associated with the high heterogeneity of students in GLSC in terms of age and language proficiency. However, participants were also positive about the feasibility of GLSC, particularly in relation to the curriculum for GLSC students and sufficient support services for GLSC teachers (e.g., support materials). In terms of effectiveness, stakeholders were largely critical of the impact of GLSC on students’ development and socio-emotional aspects, which is in line with the findings of Resch et al. (2023) who point to social exclusion and othering processes perceived by teachers. Interestingly, few participants expressed concerns about the impact of GLSC on students’ language development. Finally, most participants did not criticize the legitimacy of GLSCs in relation to the lack of empirical evidence. This finding could be because the participants themselves take on monitoring tasks and are not involved in the actual implementation of the GLSC. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that it is particularly important to consider the views of administrative authorities, which play an important role in the implementation of top-down decisions in the education system. The implications derived from the present study point to the need to continuously promote close communication between administrative authorities and schools.

Bleidick, U. (1985). Theorie der Behindertenpädagogik : mit mehreren Tabellen. Marhold. Bundesministerium Für Bildung, Wissenschaft Und Forschung (BMBWF). (2019). Deutschförderklassen und Deutschförderkurse. Leitfaden für Schulleiterinnen und Schulleiter. Bundesministerium Für Bildung, Wissenschaft Und Forschung. https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/dam/jcr:f0e708af-3e17-4bf3-9281-1fe7098a4b23/deutschfoerderklassen.pdf Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., & Terry, G. (2018). Thematic analysis. In P. Liamputtong (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences (pp. 84–103). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2779- 6_103-1. Gitschthaler, M., Kast, J., Corazza, R., & Schwab, S. (2021). Inclusion of multilingual students-teachers' perceptions on language support models. International Journal of Inclusive Education, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.2011439 Resch, K., Gitschthaler, M., & Schwab, S. (2023). Teacher's perceptions of separate language learning models for students with immigrant background in Austrian schools. Intercultural Education (London, England), 34(3), 288–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2023.2180487 Schwab, S., Resch, K., Gitschthaler, M., Hassani, S., Latzko, D., Peter, A., & Walczuch, S. (2023). From policy to practice: how schools implement German language support policy in Austria. Current Issues in Language Planning, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2023.2269726 Spiel, C., Popper,V., & Holzer, J. (2022). Evaluation der Implementierung des Deutschfördermodells. https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/dam/jcr:2ba5ac1e-3be9-4dd2-8d04-c2465169e726/deutschfoerdermodell_eval.pdf