POLAND EDUCATION SYSTEM

 EDUCATION IN POLAND

Education in Poland is  compulsory and starts at the age of six from the mandatory kindergarten .. At the age of seven, children start the first grade of primary school  lasting for eight years (the duration was six years prior to 2017) and finish with an exam.The international PISA 2012  praised the progresses made by Polish education in mathematics, science and literacy; the number of top-performers having increased since 2003 while the number of low-performers decreased again In 2014, the Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit rated Polish education as fifth best in Europe and tenth best in the world.

Primary school

Primary school usually starts at seven years old. Following changes introduced by 2016 act "Law on School Education" primary school was extended to 8 years.The first three year cycle is ‘integrated’, with one teacher handling all or most of the subjects, while the following five years are taught by subject-specific teachers. At the end of primary school, pupils write a compulsory national competence test. If successfully completed, the examination grants a primary-school leaving certificate. The Polish Education system for primary school aged children is centred around a pedagogical style that focuses on the learning of facts and does not involve the concept of exploration or investigation, individuality and opinions are inconsequential.

Junior high school

Until 2019, the junior high school  covered lower secondary education and ended general basic education and lasted three years. The subjects taught were Polish language, history, civic education, two foreign languages, mathematics, physics and astronomy, chemistry, biology, geography, fine arts/music, technology, information technology, physical education and religion or ethics. At the end of the curriculum, pupils were evaluated based on their continuing results and on an examination in humanities, science and foreign languages.

Following 2016 reform by PiS ruling party changes to the Polish education system were gradually introduced. Starting with the school year of 2017/2018, middle schools were scheduled to be disbanded, primary schools to be extended to eight years and upper secondary schools to be given one year more, as it was before 1999.Institutions were either set to close or to be changed into primary schools or high schools by 1 September 2019.

Upper secondary education

Upper secondary education begins at the end of full-time compulsory education, preparing students for entry directly into the  labour market and/or tertiary (i.e. higher) education. Upper secondary education takes many forms.

General education can be pursued in general secondary schools  after three years, students can pass the exam , which grants access to higher education. Vocational and technical education is mainly provided by technical schools  and/or basic vocational schools . Technical schools last four years and lead to the Matura. Their primary goal is to teach occupations and trades, the most popular being: accountant, mechanic, electronics specialist, and salesperson. Basic vocational schools provide a vocational education lasting two years and grant a certificate of competence in various fields, the most popular being: shop-assistant, automobile mechanic, hairdresser and baker.Graduates from basic vocational schools can pass the Matura after an extra-curriculum of two years in a general secondary school, or, since 2004, of three years in a technical school. Profiled general secondary schools provide a vocational education in three years, but only in fields described by the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD). In addition, mentally and/or physically handicapped students can join special schools  which prepare them for the Matura in three years.

Foreign languages

Students in Polish schools typically learn one or two foreign languages. In 2005/06, the fractions of students studying foreign languages in Polish schools included: English ,German,French ,Spanish,Russian, Italian , Latin. In 2005/2006, there were 49,200 students in schools for national minorities, most of them in German, Kashubian, Ukrainian and Belarusian  language schools.

Under the education reform introduced by Polish education minister Katarzyna Hall, students of Polish lower secondary schools had to learn two different foreign languages. The first foreign language  was taught three times a week. The second foreign language was taught twice a week. The reform introduced two different levels of the exam – a higher level and a standard level (if a student learnt the first language in lower secondary school). The results of lower secondary school language examinations contributed to the criteria of applying to enter upper secondary level school.

Violence

In 2006, in response to the suicide of a girl after she was sexually molested in school, the Polish Minister of Education, Roman Giertych launched a "zero tolerance" school reform.Under this plan, teachers would have the legal status of civil servants  making violent crimes  against them punishable by higher penalties. Head teachers (equivalent to principals in the US) will be, in theory, able to send aggressive pupils to perform community service  and these students' parents may also be fined. Teachers who fail to report violent acts in school could face a prison sentence.

PiS reforms of 2017

The PiS government of Poland introduced a major 2017 Polish education system reform, for successive implementation over the three school years starting with 2017/2018. The reform reverts the overall organisational structure from 6 (primary) + 3 (junior high school) + 3/4 (high school) years of education to 8 (primary school) + 4/5 (high school) years. According to history teacher Anna Dzierzgowska, the reform inherits the Polish-centred and Eurocentric  focuses of the previous history syllabus. The term communism  was removed from teaching about the nineteenth century, during which it is called socialism and only appears later in association with the Polish People’s Republic. Dzierzgowska argues that the notion of nationalism  historically dates only back to the nineteenth century, but is used much too frequently in the new curriculum, giving pupils insufficient geographical context.

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