Context

Teacher shortages are a recurring phenomenon that is difficult to manage for both education policy and research (UNESCO 2024). Educational politics and administration in most European countries are currently dealing with this problem and reacting with similar measures (EC 2024). The focus is on the acquisition of additional staff who can be quickly deployed in schools. These new groups of people (mostly with different previous qualifications, without any pedagogical training) are being given more or less intensive in-service training. However, there are very different opportunities and obligations in the various countries to build up these training programmes to a fully-fledged teacher qualification (Klemm 2022; Korneck 2024; Sandmeier & Herzog 2024; Schnider & Braunsteiner 2024; SWK 2023a; 2023b).

An analysis of the Austrian situation (Helm et al. 2024) showed, for example, that almost half (49.5%) of the new teachers entering schools in the 2023/24 school year did not have a traditional teaching qualification, but belonged to three groups of non-traditionally qualified teachers: teacher students without a degree (18.8%), ‘lateral entrants’ (subject degree without a teaching qualification; 8.4%) and teachers with a special contract (usually without a (school-relevant) degree; 22.3%).

Teacher shortage and its ‘solution’ through the recruitment of non-traditionally qualified individuals is receiving increasing attention in educational research (see special issues of learned journals European Journal of Teacher Education (2025 forthcoming), Die Deutsche Schule (2020), Beiträge zur Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung (2023) and Journal für LehrerInnenbildung (2024)). The short- and long-term effects of the entry of a larger number of non-traditionally qualified professionals on the standard of competence achieved and the image of the profession are being addressed (GEBF 2023; Sandmeier& Herzog 2024; Artmann et al. 2024; Bacher et al: 2024). Some studies examine the values that the newly recruited individuals bring to the school (Porsch 2021; Groß Ophoff et al. 2024), others look at their experience of stress (Helm et al. 2024); others examine whether the ‘lateral entrants’ differ from traditional students in terms of their skills and values (Schauer et al. 2024; Gamsjäger et al. 2025 in press).

While the phenomenon of teacher shortage has so far primarily been addressed from the perspective of education policy, governance, professionalism theory and of the newly recruited teachers, the question of the potential effects of these diverse qualifications on the work and further development of the schools concerned and the coping strategies of the existing staff have so far been little researched.  

Our study aims to address the effects of teacher shortages and the employment of differently but non-traditionally qualified individuals on the work and further development of schools. In a micropolitical and structuration theory perspective on school improvement (Altrichter 2018; Bohl, 2020), we assume that the arrival of non-traditionally qualified teachers increases the divergence (re: interests, previous experience, qualifications) in the teaching staff and represents a situation of uncertainty that requires coping strategies not only from the newcomers but also from the existing staff. These strategies may aim to maintain the organisation's routine games or to use the situation of uncertainty for different types of innovation games (Crozier & Friedberg 1993).

Our study deals with the following key question (in the first phase of the study: from the perspective of school leaders): What effects do teacher shortages and the employment of non-traditionally or not-fully qualified teachers have on the work and further development of schools and what strategies do school leaders at Austrian schools use to respond to this situation? The following aspects will be discussed: - What strategies do head teachers use to recruit new colleagues? Which qualifications do they favour and why? - What strategies are used to support non-traditionally qualified colleagues in the initial and later phases of their school career? - What strategies are used to manage work organisation and school improvement? Methods used: Qualitative guideline-based interviews with about 15 headteachers at Austrian primary and secondary schools of different types. Sampling according to the extent to which they are affected by teacher shortages. The interviews are analysed according to Mayring (2010) with regard to types of school leadership strategies.

No results are available at the time of submission. By the time of the conference, a total of around 15 interviews will have been conducted and analysed so that the results can be presented. Discussion will focus on coping strategies of school leaders and repercussions for professional work at schools and school improvement.

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