Education in Poland

Education in Poland
Primary
Szkoła podstawowa, Warsaw
Secondary
Liceum Ogólnokształcące, Białystok
Tertiary

Education in Poland is compulsory; every child must receive education from when they are 6 years old until they are 18 years old.[1] It is also mandatory for 6-year-old children to receive one year of kindergarten (Polish: przedszkole, literally pre-school) education, before starting primary school (Polish: szkoła podstawowa) at 6 years old. Primary school lasts eight years (grades 1–8), and students must take a final exam at the end of the eighth grade. After graduating from primary school, people typically go on to attend secondary school (Polish: szkoła średnia), which lasts 4 or 5 years.[2] They can also choose to educate themselves towards a specific profession or trade, and receive work experience and qualifications through apprenticeships. After graduating from secondary school and passing the final exam, called the matura, one can pursue a higher education at a university, college, etc.

The Polish Ministry of Education established by King Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1773 was the first ministry of education in the world,[3][4] and the traditions continue. 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.[5] In 2014, the Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit rated Polish education as fifth best in Europe and tenth best in the world.[6]

There are several alternatives for the upper secondary education later on, the most common being the four (three until 2017) years of a liceum or five (four until 2017) years in a technikum. Both end with a maturity exam (matura, similar to French baccalauréat), and may be followed by several forms of upper education, leading to Bachelor: licencjat or inżynier (the Polish Bologna Process first cycle qualification), Master: magister (the Polish Bologna Process second cycle qualification) and eventually PhD: doktor (the Polish Bologna Process third cycle qualification). The system of education in Poland allows for 22 years of continuous, uninterrupted schooling.[7]

  1. ^ "Postępowanie egzekucyjne w zakresie obowiązku szkolnego- Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej Miasta Krakowa - BIP MK".
  2. ^ "Szkolnictwo średnie i policealne (ISCED 3 i 4) | Eurydice". 9 October 2017.
  3. ^ Jan IJ. van der Meer (2002). Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764–1795): A Social System?. Rodopi. p. 233. ISBN 978-90-420-0933-2. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  4. ^ Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland, Columbia University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-231-12819-3, Google Print, p.167
  5. ^ PISA 2012 Results in Focus (PDF), OECD, 3 December 2013, retrieved 15 January 2014
  6. ^ Top 20 Education Systems BBC. Source: Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BARIE archive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).