EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN POLAND

By: Lauren Parker

• Poland became independent in 1918

• Became a soviet state after World War II and was overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union

• 1989-1990 Poland won back unity

Ethnic Groups • 96.6% of the people in Poland are Polish• 1.1% are Silesian • 0.2% are German • 0.1% are Ukrainian• 1.7% unspecified • Population = 38,346,279• 89.8% of the people are Roman Catholic • https://

www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html

Education• Early Childhood Education is very

important in Poland• Immediate experiences done in schools

are very crucial to a child’s learning • Process-person-context model

determines how early experiences effect long term and short term memory in children

• What children learn in school affects their development later in life

• Just being present in school (namely kindergarten) is very beneficial to a child’s learning

• (Karwowska-Struczyk, 1998).

Public vs. Private School• Public School • Educational Policy

favors

• Private School • Run by social

organizations and associations

• Expanded in 1990 • Educational Policy

refused for these schools to take over

• Meant to compliment what the sate has to offer

Public vs. Private SchoolPUBLIC PRIVATE • Measure of

assessment = Comparable indicators of education quality and student performance

• Has been established as a permanent education system

• Advantage: independece

• (Piwowarski, 2006)

• 406 Polish seven year olds • Analyze language competence and

reading comprehension • Children had best language and reading if

their parents had gone to college • Poland has standards of where a child

should be in their development when it comes to education

• Sex and background of child can influence learning

• Children analyzed exceeded Poland’s requirements

• (Bielen, Malkowska-Zegadlo, 1998).

ECE in the U.S.• Ece programs are beginning to be more

recognized and valued in the United States

• Increased resources • More children are going to full-time

preschools

• (Levine Coley, McPherran Lombardi, Sims, & Votruba-Drzal)

• Education is key for future success, financially

• Children who have good experiences in school at a young age will do better in school later on

• Children who come from low income families typically do not go to high quality preschools

• The goal is to get every child into a high quality preschool

• Administration investing $75 billion to a new partnership

• Investing time and money to make the best possible preschools

• This is needed because early childhood education is very important to build the foundation of learning

• (“Early Learning, 2013).

Geography and Polish Education

• Geography isn’t an important subject to teach in Polish schools

• One lessen a week in secondary schools

• (Pirog & Tracz, 2003) • Important to note that one lessen per

week is not much time at all

Higher Education in Poland • Higher education institutions developed

in Poland because of the high demand• Being developed, but for a fee

• (Jalowiecki, 2001).

• Very similar to higher education in the U.S.

Comparing Poland and the U.S.

• Similar when it comes to ages of schooling

• However, there is no middle school- instead they have gymnasium, which is what we call middle school in the United States

• http://www.buwiwm.edu.pl/publ/edu/index4.htm

References Karwowska-Struczyk, M. (1998). Children's Activities and their Effect on Child Development: The results of the IEA Pre-primary Project in Poland. International Journal Of Early Years Education, 6(2), 207.

Piwowarski, R. (2006). The Role Of Non-public Schools In Modern Education Systems: A Polish Perspective. International Review Of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift Für Erziehungswissenschaft, 52(5), 397-407. doi:10.1007/s11159-006-9000-5

Bielén, B., & Malkowska-Zegadlo, H. (1998). Developmental Achievements of 7-year-old Children in Poland in the Light of International Tests and the Requirements of the Polish Language School Program. International Journal Of Early Years Education, 6(2), 185.

• Coley, R., Lombardi, C., Sims, J., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2013). Early education and care experiences and cognitive skills development. Family Matters, (93), 36-49.

• EARLY LEARNING: America's Middle Class Promise Begins Early. (2013). Education Digest, 79(2), 58-60.

• Pirág, D., & Tracz, M. (2003). The Status of Geography in the Polish Education System. International Research In Geographical & Environmental Education, 12(2), 164-170.

• Jałowiecki, B. (2001). Prospects for the Development of Private Higher Education in Poland. Higher Education In Europe, 26(3), 421-425. doi:10.1080/03797720120115997

• http://www.buwiwm.edu.pl/publ/edu/index4.htm

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html

Different or similar?• Although there are some differences in

education in the United States and Poland, there are more similarities.

• There is a lot of focus on early childhood experiences in both countries, which is the biggest similarity.