When Curricular Objectives Collide: The Official, Enacted, and Experienced Curricula in Schools During the People’s Republic of Poland (1952–1989)

Abstract

From the end of World War II to 1989, a Communist regime dictated political and economic policy in Poland as well as educational curricula. Heavily influenced by Marxist-Leninist ideology, the official state curriculum sought to build support for the Communist system and to promote acquiescence to the Soviet influence in Poland’s internal affairs. Yet, the official curriculum contradicted the perspectives of many Poles who recalled the country’s historically democratic traditions and lamented its 18th-century partitioning by the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian empires, which resulted in the disappearance of Poland from the map of Europe for 123 years (1795–1918). The resulting inconsistency between the official curriculum and the goals and knowledge of Polish teachers evidenced itself as they attempted to subvert the ideological indoctrination called for by the state. This qualitative study sought to better understand how teachers and students mediated the official curriculum in the classroom. Examination of official curricular documents and interviews with Polish teachers and students yields a portrait of schooling in Communist Poland that is far more complex than the label “indoctrination” allows.