Abstract
AbstractThis chapter presents a history of the successes and challenges of education reforms in Poland from 1999 to the present in the context of political and social changes.The goals of 1999 school system reform were to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the education system, ensure equal opportunities and raise the number of graduates of secondary and tertiary programs. The reform encompassed modernisation of core curriculum and the introduction of external exams. The crucial aspect of the reform was the reduction of primary education from 8 to 6 grades and creation of a new 3-year general lower secondary school level, what extended comprehensive general education by 1 year and postponed tracking to general and vocational secondary schools. The reform efforts were continued with the further changes in the curriculum aimed at the development of cognitive and analytical abilities and problem-solving skills. The positive outcomes of the reforms were seen in the progress of Polish students in consecutive (2000–2018) cycles of the PISA study. However, despite strong student performance, the new lower secondary schools developed a poor public reputation. In the 2015 election campaign, the then opposition party appealed to a general nostalgia for the “good old times” and, among other populist proposals, promised to reverse the education reform by eliminating lower secondary schools. When the party won the election, they quickly reversed the earlier reforms, disregarding negative opinions of researchers and local authorities as well as the protests of parents and teachers. Teachers’ frustration because of the chaos caused by the reform, poor working conditions and low salaries culminated in the 2019 strike in which almost 80% of schools participated. The protest, although not successful, was a beginning of civic society informal activities like citizens debates on education (NOoE).
Highlights
In this chapter we will present a history of the successes and challenges of education reforms in Poland from 1999 to the present in the context of political and social changes
The Ministry of Education introduced a redesigned national core curriculum which set only general learning objectives for each level of schooling, while decisions on pedagogic methods, didactic tools, and the selection of textbooks were left to teachers and schools
The most critical and visible aspect of the reform was the reduction of primary education from 8 to 6 grades and creation of a new 3-year general lower secondary school level
Summary
In this chapter we will present a history of the successes and challenges of education reforms in Poland from 1999 to the present in the context of political and social changes. That reform (of 2017) was not rooted in evidence-based research and policy, but was a reaction to collective public opinion that schools were not working properly Teachers universally perceived this as a negative evaluation of their work and the many years they had dedicated to improving the quality of education. The efforts were supported by increasingly strong contacts with developed western countries and cooperation with the World Bank, OECD and the European Union (EU), the latter of which dedicated special aid funds in preparation for Poland’s anticipated membership These connections enriched the discussion of the development of the Polish education system, especially by the comparison of living standards and the quality of public services in various countries. In the 1990s Poland did not yet participate in these types of international assessments, so it was difficult to verify or contradict the widely held belief that the Polish education system was performing adequately
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