ABSTRACT
The geographical/political area in which German has historically been the first language encompasses the Federal Republic of Germany with its 16 states; the Republic of Austria with its nine states; and 17 cantons of the Swiss Federation in which German is the only official language, as well as three cantons where German and French are co-official languages. This chapter focuses on administrative, social, cultural and linguistic factors that have significant effects on early literacy. This chapter focuses on children aged 3–6, i.e. children who attend the Kindergarten.1 In Austria, children's attendance during the last year of kindergarten has been compulsory since 2008. It is clear that the close control and narrow focus on highly specific/prescriptive goals and outcomes of some Anglophone curricula are not a feature of the educational thinking in Austria and Germany.
