The importance of raising defensive awareness among children and young people with the involvement of the Polish Armed Forces

Abstract

The raising of defensive awareness among children and young people is one of the fundamental roles in the process of creating a defence system, and thus the national security of the Republic of Poland. It should start at the stage of upbringing in the family home and then evolve with the help of educational facilities and their accompanying institutions, among which the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland should be mentioned in particular. It is important to note that care for the creation of a reliable security system rests not only with an institution such as the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and other uniformed services, but also with every citizen of the Polish state – in accordance with the law in force. Proper development of defensive awareness would not be possible if it were not for close cooperation between the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and the education sector. This is evidenced by the results of a pilot study, presented in the follow-ing article, conducted in the form of a questionnaire among eighth-grade students of the Henryk Sienkiewicz Primary School in Siedlce, as well as students of two third-grade classes with the military profile, at the European Secondary School of Uniformed Services in Wrocław. Their main objective was to show the degree of defence awareness formation among children and young people, using specific methods and institutions that have a direct impact on this process. As it was shown – as a result of the research analysis – a group of respondents, regardless of the knowledge they already have, want to continue to deepen it. This means that specific projects need to be created which in cooperation with many pro-defence organisations have a direct impact on shaping the security of the Polish state through working with its youngest citizens