*Subject teams for biology, chemistry, geography und economics, 
technology, mathematics und physics within schools, are 
indispensable to the improvement of intra-school subject 
teaching. The coordinator for such a team needs to be properly 
qualified for the task and to be given an appropriate status at 
his or her school. The main tasks of subject coordinators are to 
negotiate what is required in each subject, to organise internal 
quality assurance and to coordinate a professional exchange of 
experience within the subject teams. At a regional level the 
counterparts of above mentioned coordinators are, in general, 
regional subject coordinators and coordinators of regional 
networks, who are responsible for subject-related education 
management. These tasks – which will need to be precisely 
specified – include the organization of communication processes 
on teaching and more general educational issues relating to 
current and future socio-political developments and 
requirements, the regional coordination of a professional 
exchange of experience as well as interface management. The 
training of subject-related education managers and the 
subsequent upgrading of their positions is vital, if the 
mentioned tasks are to be professionally performed. Drawing on 
available resources and relying on close cooperation among 
teacher education institutions, regional centres are to be 
established in the Federal states with a view to generating 
synergy effects that benefit both research in subject didactics 
and school practice. These regional centres will have 
overarching responsibilities and work in close contact with 
national subject didactic centres. There are plans to involve 
the subject-related education managers and to establish a nexus 
with the regional networks. Regional networks of teachers and 
schools have gained importance in recent years, as they enable 
the economical use of available human and material resources. 
Beyond this, the establishment of such networks is expected to 
facilitate the setting of regional subject-related or cross-
subject goals which direct the support in the teaching of 
mathematics, science and technology in the medium term also in 
other subjects. Step by step, regional network are to be set up 
in all the Federal states, and will be linked with the existing 
networks. In order to establish the academic image of subject 
didactics at the national and international level, one of the 
pertinent regional units of each subject will need to be 
specially equipped and upgraded. The resulting national subject 
didactics centres will, among others, be engaged in the 
planning, implementation and evaluation of innovative research 
and development projects and the showcasing and utilisation of 
finding, they will provide support for classroom teaching and 
will monitor national development (e.g. educational standards) 
and international programmes (e.g. PISA). Moreover, the centres 
are expected to help to network the various types of subject 
didactics, systematically promote young academic talent and 
improve teacher education as well as foster cooperation between 
universities and the higher institutes of teacher education. In 
order to effectively stimulate innovations in the teaching of 
mathematics, science and technology 0as well as in teacher 
education, a fund for instructional and school development in 
the areas of mathematics, science and technology was set up in a 
collaborative effort of the federal educational agency, experts 
from school practice and educational researchers. The 
distinguishing feature of Austria’s system of technical and 
vocational education and training is a highly differentiated 
range of courses. The dual system that combines apprenticeship 
with vocational school attendance and the secondary technical 
and vocational schools and colleges provide young people with 
the full spectrum of up-to-date vocational education and 
training options recognised by the labour market. In addition, 
vocational schools permit transfer to higher education Young 
people who have passed the dual system an secondary technical 
and vocational schools can move on to one of the Fachhochschulen 
(which provide high-quality professional and academic training 
in specific occupations) or to university by taking the General 
Higher Education Entrance Examination or by attending post-
secondary courses or add-on courses. School leaving certificates 
from secondary technical and vocational colleges give direct 
access to higher education. In other countries the level of 
qualification attained at these colleges by Austrian students at 
the age of 19, is only achieved by attending a tertiary study 
course. Credit for previous knowledge make for shorter overall 
study periods. In order to live up to their double mandate of 
imparting both vocational und general education, technical and 
vocational schools have to make a sustained effort to safeguard 
the quality of the education and training they provide. In 
addition, they need to respond swiftly to new demands of the 
business community and of society at large and to make 
increasing use of the new options open to them under the 
statutory school autonomy provisions.