On impact and findings of the Austrian IMST initiative

The initiative “Innovations in Mathematics and Science Teaching” (IMST) started in 1998 as a reaction to Austria’s disappointing TIMSS 1995 results at the upper secondary level. In its first phase, IMST aimed at fostering mathematics and science education at secondary schools. Later, it was extended to all levels and more subjects (being renamed into Innovations Make Schools Top). The presentation sketches selected examples of the impact of IMST regarded from the perspectives of educational practice, research and policy. Also, a few research results generated by this Austrian initiative are highlighted. The presented research investigates the factors fostering the scaling-up of educational innovations, thus contributing to an emerging research field that is recently gaining worldwide importance. One of the challenges is that scaling up needs to address and interconnect several levels where innovations are expected, in particular the individual (teachers’), local (schools’), regional and national (federal states’ and country’s) level. The findings highlight the particular relevance of relative advantage and trialability of innovations as well as the need for competence in scaling up the initiative.