Szkolnictwo z polskim językiem nauczania w Republice Czeskiej: dotychczasowe doświadczenia, problemy, perspektywy

Aim: This ethnographic study is aimed at outlining the functioning of education with the Polish language as the language of instruction in the Czech Republic. Methods: The research for the text was conducted in the post-positivist paradigm, with the application of the strategy of ethnographic studies. In this regard, the method of searching secondary sources as well as observation and interviews were used. Results: As a result of the conducted analyses, a review of education with the Polish language as the language of instruction was created, pertaining to two counties of the Czech-Polish borderland – Karviná and Frýdek-Místek. Conclusions: Despite an increase in the number of students attending schools with the Polish language as the language of instruction in 2010–2022, simultaneously with the not increasing number of educational institutions (kindergartens and schools), the reasons for the decrease in their total number in previous decades should be sought in: the structural transformations in the Czechoslovak school system, as a result of which lower-organized schools were closed; the liquidation of Polish settlements as a result of mining damages; the lack of vocational schools with the Polish language as the language of instruction; the decreasing social usefulness of the Polish language in the environment; and the increasing number of mixed marriages. On the other hand, the Polish national minority in the Czech Republic has a well-developed organizational background and numerous organizations, social and cultural institutions operate there. Their activities not only serve the minority, but above all support education with the Polish language as the language of instruction.