School Reforms and Educational Inequalities in Post-Communist Poland

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the presentation of the results of a study about stratification in the school system in Poland. The research was conducted in Krakow, the former capital of Poland, in 2011-2012. The data come from statistics on local education system, individual in-depth interviews with school masters and teachers from lower secondary schools as well as politicians representing the local government. Special attention was paid to school recruitment policies, unequal access to education for students from different backgrounds, and the local government strategy for education. As a result, three types of lower secondary schools were identified: 1) elite non-public schools; 2) the best public lower secondary schools and 3) schools for students from poor families, facing enormous problems and substantial educational needs. We concluded that the education policy of the local authorities of Krakow is not effective in terms of equalization of opportunities of the children and youth from socially neglected and marginalized communities.