The Polish Educational Policy after 28 Years of Political Transformation

In this article I make a critical analysis of educational policy in Poland during the 28 years of the political transformation. In the transition period in Poland, from 1989 to 2017, education did not become a source of ongoing changes in the country. Further formations of political power, selected through elections, instead of decentralizing the school system, allegedly led to the creation of new models of school in a corset of centralism. To make matters worse, the prime ministers of the following governments from different political parties, taking into account their own or party interests, created the ministry of national education (or their decision-making power apparatus) who had disturbed communicational relationships with the public. In this article, I explain the reasons for the betrayal of elites in the context of fundamental assumptions of the “Solidarity” movement in the years of 1980 – 1989. As a result, Polish society abandoned the deliberative and participatory democracy. I look at how education, as a science and practice of education, fits into democratization of the Polish state and society. What is of key importance is the perception of education as a common good, as environments and entities, institutions or management practices which participate in a democratic society.