Preparing teachers for multilingual classrooms: competence development in pre- and in-service teacher education in Austria

The increasing number of multilingual students in schools demands teachers with competence in linguistically responsive teaching. Over the past decade, opportunities to learn (OTL) to acquire the competence have been implemented in pre- and in-service teacher education programs in Austria. The aim of this study was to assess how effectively primary school teacher education programs in Austria prepare pre- and in-service teachers to support the language and subject-related learning of their future multilingual students. Using the DaZKom test, the development of competence regarding linguistically responsive teaching (LRT) as well as beliefs regarding multilingualism in school were examined in different groups of pre- and in-service teachers over time. Additionally, the study analyzed the interaction of OTL focused on linguistically responsive teaching, beliefs on multilingualism in school and linguistically responsive teaching competence. The results show that these OTL have a positive effect both on LRT competence as well as beliefs. The effect sizes correspond with the intensity of the OTL, indicating that more comprehensive OTL have a greater impact. The study also demonstrates that OTL, together with students' initial beliefs and LRT competence, are predictors of the observed learning outcomes. Based on these findings, we conclude that the availability of comprehensive OTL as part of teacher education programs is essential to support multilingual students in schools. Furthermore, the results suggest that OTL should be designed in a way that accommodates students with diverse learning prerequisites.