Academe in transition: Transformations in the Polish academic profession

The period since 1989 has been an extremely dynamic one in Polish highereducation. New opportunities have opened up for the academic community,along with new challenges. Suddenly, the academic profession has arrivedat a stage that combines far-reaching autonomy with rather uncertainindividual career prospects. In recent years, a number of new laws havebeen proposed that were intended to change the whole structure ofrecruitment, promotions, remuneration, working conditions, andappointments of academic faculty. All this has occurred admidst thestrains and tensions resulting from changes in the broader society. Thesudden passage from the more or less elite higher education system tomass higher education with a strong and dynamic private sector hastransformed the situation of the academic community beyond allrecognition. The transition has resulted in a new set of values andchanges in position, tasks, and roles for academe in society. Today,the future of the Polish academic profession remains undetermined. Thepositive changes were accompanied by the chronic underfunding of publichigher education. Polish academics have learned to accommodatethemselves to the permanent state of uncertainty in which they areforced to operate. The present paper analyzes the current situation fromthe perspective of global changes affecting the academic profession.     

Determinants of higher education choices and student satisfaction: the case of Poland

The dynamic changes in tertiary education that were observed in Poland for the last 20 years transformed the Polish educational market and led to the immense expansion of educational institutions. The rapid increase in the number of students that continued until 2006 is however over and Polish universities have begun to compete for their clients. Increased competition along with the pessimistic forecasts for Poland with regard to demographic changes result in the growing demand for the knowledge on determinants of student educational choices and satisfaction. Although the amount of studies in this field is growing, Poland is still substantially underrepresented in the current research. The purpose of this article was to examine the underlying factors behind the choices that Polish students make while pursuing their tertiary education. The research method that combines focus groups’ discussions and a survey study among 1,420 business major students helped us to identify the factors behind three phases of the decision making process: pursuing higher education; information search along with final choice of a university; and satisfaction from chosen studies. Our research implies that decision making with regard to tertiary education is multifaceted and longitudinal as it combines a different set of factors in each stage of the decision making process.     

The communities providing religious education and catechesis to Polish immigrants in England and Wales

Since Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens have arrived in the UK in search of work, of which the majority landed in England and Wales. This process, although not as fast now, is still ongoing. The majority of immigrants from Poland are young people who start families and have children. Many of these children are born in the UK. For this reason, it is increasingly common for the children of Polish immigrants to be covered by the local school system. In addition to general knowledge, they also have the right to religious education and catechesis. This article presents a summary of the communities providing religious education and catechesis to Polish migrants living in England and Wales. It describes the specific features of religious education in state-run schools, Catholic schools and Polish Saturday Schools. The objectives of parish catechesis conducted by the Polish Catholic missions operating in England and Wales are also outlined. The primary objective of this discussion is to present the various options for religious education and catechesis for the children of Polish immigrants living in England and Wales.     

Holocaust education in Polish public schools: Between remembrance and civic education

This article analyzes the historical and political context of Holocaust education, and its implementation in Polish schools. Perceptions of the Holocaust continue to change, influenced by Poland’s social and political situation. The Polish historical context is quite specific; it includes the long history of Poles and Jews as neighbours, with local resentments and animosities, and the Polish sense of being special victims of World War II and observers of the Nazis’ “final solution to the Jewish question”. These different types of social awareness have neutralized the remembrance of the Holocaust and its presence in school education. Similarly, the perception of the Holocaust in Polish schools has changed. Initially seen as just one element in the Nazis’ crimes against everyone in Poland, it is now understood as a singular phenomenon, the unparalleled mass extermination of the Jewish nation. From this perspective, I analyze Holocaust education, and its status in the curriculum and in pedagogical practice. I also report on my own research on the practice and meanings of Holocaust education in Polish public schools. Holocaust education should not be limited to the pedagogical transfer of remembrance but should also be associated with transforming social awareness and modern civic education.     

The Role of Private Universities and Colleges in the Spatial Restructuring of Higher Education in Poland

The development of private higher education institutions in Poland since 1989 has become a thorny political issue. The question is discussed in terms of the overall expansion of higher education in Poland, the Polish national development strategy, the spatial distribution of higher education institutions in Poland, and the role of higher education in the formation of the Polish national e´lite. The author argues strongly in favour of the equal treatment of private higher education.     

The CRASP Research Institute: A Response to the Need for Informed Policy in Higher Education and Research

The Polish higher education system has undergone profound changes since 1989. In particular, state institutions have gained a great deal of autonomy, and private institutions have been organized. Student enrollments have skyrocketed, but funding per student has decreased, along with faculty salaries. The system of higher education as it stands today requires deft strategic management based on competent analyses and accurate information. Thus, in order to better address matters of policy, governance, and management collectively, the Polish doctoral degree granting institutions have formed the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) that in turn has decided to support the creation of an independent research institute. The work of this Institute will cover almost all aspects of higher education and science. It will function foremost according to a networking principle. The results of its research projects will be made available, not only to CRASP itself, but also to other interested parties.     

Problems of Quality Assessment in Polish Higher Education

Beginning with a discussion of the need for and the criteria of quality assessment and accreditation in higher education, the author gives a rapid survey of western European practice. She then introduces the Polish situation in which two organizations have proposed higher education evaluation and accreditation systems: the General Council for Higher Education and the Institute of Contemporary Civilisation. Both organizations have developed pilot projects with selected Polish higher education institutions. The author summarizes the criteria and procedures of the evaluation systems of both organizations. She concludes by mentioning the results of a recent Polish‐American Seminar on Accreditation and Quality Assessment.     

Polish Higher Education

This study analyzes degrees of differences between the private and public sectors of Polish higher education. It finds them to be strong: Polish private institutions function very differently from Polish public institutions and these differences correspond with those found in the literature on higher education elsewhere in the world. Polish intersectoral differences follow directions anticipated from the global literature. The study also provides material usable in policymaking by government agencies, public-private universities, and families.     

社会主义时期的波兰高等教育:成就与缺失

社会主义时期的波兰高等教育是波兰高等教育发展历程中的一个重要时期,回顾了社会主义时期波兰高等教育发展史,并分析了社会主义时期波兰高等教育的成就与缺失。     

硕士研究生政治和外语录取分数线变化的解读

通过梳理近15年来我国硕士研究生政治和外语复试分数线的变化趋势、解读其含义及对目前关于是否必要开设研究生政治和外语课程两大观点的辨析,并结合我国研究生政治和外语教育的实际情况,作者认为：当前及今后一段时期十分有必要加强对研究生政治和外语的教育,而不是削弱更不是取消;欲达此目的,必须提高政治和外语课程的实效性,而开课学院、开课教师、研究生管理部门、科研管理部门、研究生导师及研究生本人均需付出各自的努力是必要条件。     

Perspektywy --Ten Years of Rankings

The editor-in-chief of Perspektywy, a major educational publication house in Warsaw, Poland, describes a major activity of his organization, namely the ranking of secondary schools and higher education institutions. Indeed, Perspektywy is the major Polish organization providing rankings and elaborating league tables of Polish higher education institutions. In particular, Perspektywy has teamed up with a leading Polish newspaper, Rzeczpospolita, to produce major rankings in separate listings of the main state-operated and private higher education institutions. The author explains the methodologies employed for both sets of rankings and argues that his organization provides a valuable service to college-bound youth and their parents.     

CHANGING POINTS OF VIEW ON EVALUATION

The slow process of introducing a system of quality control and accreditation into Polish higher education since the political changes of 1990 is described. The decentralization of the state system of higher education in reaction to communist over‐centralization and the growing number of private institutions of higher education have made some system of quality control and accreditation operating at national level necessary. A TEMPUS project,” Advice for the Ministry of National Education on the Organization of a National Higher Education Accreditation Centre”, is described. The need for additional research on aspects of quality evaluation in higher education is recognized.     

Competence of Irish and Polish teachers in the opinions of young Polish immigrants in Ireland

Since 2004, Ireland has experienced the arrival of immigrants from various countries from all over the world including Poland. The Polish came to Ireland with their families including children of school age obliged to attend compulsory education. These children have attended schools dissimilar from the ones they are accustomed to in their home country in terms of teacher–student relationships. The question then arises as to what an Irish teacher is like in the opinions of young Polish immigrants? Is the image different from the one of a Polish teacher, or does the peculiarity of this job make teachers in various countries alike? This research conducted among a group of Polish grammar school students in Ireland helps to answer these questions. This article is a comparative study of teachers’ competence, and their personality, as well as their substantive, methodological and educational competence. The information was obtained by group interview technique with Polish youth aged 13–15 studying in Irish secondary schools at junior cycle level.     

Religious discrimination discourse in the mono-cultural school: the case of Poland

The article forms an analysis of the religious discrimination discourse in Polish public schools, with special attention paid to the culturally specific, Polish understanding of the notion of religious discrimination. The introductory part presents the concept of religious discrimination as present in anti-discriminatory policies. The following part outlines the Polish system of religious education and its relation to the religious discrimination. Studies on religious discrimination in Poland are presented and discussed. Important context is supplied by a presentation of two recent cases of religious discrimination in Polish public schools, and the actions undertaken by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Authors of the article point out the important influence of cultural context on the perception of religious discrimination. The attention is drawn to the seemingly homogenous environment of the Polish school and of the discriminative discourse used in political and social debates. The analysis shows that the presence of religion as a subject in Polish schools remains a cause of conflict between the religious and atheist citizens, a conflict in which concepts of religious discrimination and religious freedom are used as arguments by both sides.     

Public and Private Higher Education Institutions--Joint or Separate Evaluation and Ranking: The Polish Perspective

Since 1989, Polish higher education has been characterized by the emergence of a private sector of higher education as well as by the development of procedures and institutions for the evaluation and accreditation of higher education institutions and programmes in both sectors. Currently, the two sectors are evaluated separately by separate institutions. The authors call for the convergence of the two higher education sectors. Not only would evaluations of Polish higher education institutions thus be made more accurate and comprehensive, but the two sectors would learn from one another, and the private institutions and their students would become eligible to receive state grants.     

国外小学数学教育的发展与我国小学数学教育的改革

近年来，数学教育的观念、教学内容和方法正发生着深刻的变化。借鉴国外小学数学教育改革的经验，分析我国小学数学教育的现状，提出了小学数学教育改革的若干对策。     

Institutional accreditation as an instrument of public relations: The case of the Poznan´ university of economics

In December 2000, five Polish state institutions of higher education in economics established the Foundation for the Promotion and Accreditation of Economics Programmes. Its mission, as stated in its charter, is to improve the quality of economics and management education by disseminating and supporting its best models. This mission takes on particular importance on the eve of the inclusion of Polish higher education institutions into the European Higher Education Area. This article serves as a case study based on the experience of the Poznan´ University of Economics and what it gained from its accreditation in early 2003.     

谈我国高等教育国际化的几个问题

全球经济一体化使得传统教育正在经历巨大的变革,教育--尤其是高等教育国际化已成为不争的事实.本文从引进原版教材,增加留学生的派遣与接收,开展联合办学等几方面论述了我国高等教育的国际化问题.     

第二次世界大战期间波兰人口的变化

第二次世界大战对波兰是一场空前浩劫,约600万人在战争中死亡。对这一时期的波兰人口状况,学者多侧重于法西斯德国对波兰犹太人的种族屠杀进行研究,而较少全面分析。本文拟从德国占领时期波兰人口的状况、苏占波兰地区的人口状况和战后边界变化对波兰人口的影响这三方面,试对二战期间波兰人口的锐减和大规模迁移进行简要分析,以揭示战争对波兰人口所造成的巨大影响。     

库氏“后方法”教学理论对英语教师在职培训的启示

Kumaravadivelu＂后方法＂概念的提出使外语教学摆脱了＂方法＂的束缚,使我们长期以来形成的语言教学与教师教育理念发生了根本性转变。在使外语教学实现理念更新的同时,它也为新形势下的英语教师在职培训提供了新的思路。本文针对我国英语教师在职培训的现状,借助库氏＂后方法＂教学的三大参数和＂宏观策略框架＂来探讨其对我国英语教师在职培训在内容与形式上的诸多启示。