Socio-Economic Conditions in Warsaw Districts and the Availability of Extracurricular Activities in Primary Schools

Abstract

Abstract Polish schools achieve their educational aims, as set out in the curriculum, within the framework of obligatory class periods. Extracurricular activities may be organised when schools receive additional funding from local government budgets. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the relationship between the socio-economic conditions of individual Warsaw districts and the availability of extracurricular activities in those districts’ primary schools. The analysis carried out during this study disproved the initial assumption that more affluent districts with higher per capita incomes and a higher proportion of expenditures directed towards educational aims would be characterised by a larger offer of extracurricular activities. Rather, what distinguishes districts with the highest availability of extracurricular activities is their peripheral location within the territory of Warsaw. There, schools ensure longer hours of supervision for children and organised the time after class, which offers support to the parents. It is likely that it is the parents who, due to their relatively longer commute between home and work, support the organisation of such activities, not least financially.