The beginnings of The beginnings of the Educational the Educational System in PolandSystem in Poland

Comenius PartnershipEducation – A Journey In Time

The 11th of October, 2011

Middle Ages

Mediaeval Poland was full of uneducated people, not many of them had access to education. Practical skills were more important than knowledge and science at that time. In the Middle Ages, the church was the institution which encouraged learning and took over the role of educating young children. Learning was strictly connected with religion. During the Middle Ages, girls were not taught to read and write, unlike boys. There were a few organized schools for women in convents, but most girls who learned to read received home schooling.

The period between the 12th and the 14th century brought a dvelopment of the parish and convent schools. They were supervised by monks and priests. The main focus was on a religious upbringing. They aimed at teaching reading and writing. Boys and girls were taught separately. The first educational institutions aimed at teaching the subjects of Liberal arts:

the Trivium: grammar, logic and rhetoric the Quadrivium: arithmetic,geometry, music and astronomy

Latin was the language of instruction and the Bible was the most important compulsory reading. Parish schools were supervised by bishops. Most of the graduates became priests.

Another type of school aimed at training future craftsmen. Young boys could serve an apprenticeship for 3-11 years to become a qualified master. Sometimes parents had to pay for such an apprenticeship. After gaining the title of a master, young men could still work but they got salary for their trade work.

Boys started education at the age of 7. Most schools were set up in towns so they were not accessible to everyone. All the schools were controlled by the archbishop. The school’s principal was responsible for monitoring teaching methods and discipline. Teachers were very demanding; strict discipline and corporal punishment were quite common.

At the end of the Middle Ages period, the first Polish university was established. It was founded by the king Casimir III the Great in Cracow in 1364. The Jagiellonian University aimed at training future teachers and lawyers. It consisted of three faculties only: liberal arts, medicine and law. Students began their studies at the liberal arts faculty, and only when they had completed the course they could continue at one of the other faculties; the faculty of theology was considered the highest one.

The first university...

In the mid 15th century the Kraków University became Europe’s leading

academic centre of mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geography and

legal studies.

The entire medieval world was based on a hierarchical system, with religious matters

considered most crucial. Long hours of prayers, discipline and Christian education were

fundamental for Mediaeval teachers. Nevertheless, the foundation of new schools and

the Jagiellonian University was one of the greatest achievements of that time and it

initiated a great development of education and culture, which could be observed in Renaissance.

The invention of printing contributed to the wider access to books

and thus popularized education. The first secondary schools which had their

own syllabi and division into classes were

secular.

Jesuit schoolsIn the 16th century, the order of Jesuits developed their own net of schools, mainly for the nobility. Teachers used a common programme - Ratio studiorum, education was free of charge and the schools were well-equipped. The Catholic, strict upbringing was the main objective of the schools. However, the syllabus was very diverse and the schools offered numerous trips, interest groups, sports activities and drama lessons. Jesuits emphasized the role of a well-educated staff. They had their own seminaries and the teacher’s profession was very prestigeous at that time. Jesuits colleges in Lvov and Vilnius evolved later into academies and then universities. Jesuits contributed to popularization of education in Poland.

First net of schools...

Enlightenment

In 1773 the Pope decided to close down the Jesuit order. Although Jesuit schools were fairly efficient, they were also very conservative and the Pope’s decision threatened a complete breakdown of education in the Commonwealth.

Commission of National Education – the first central educational authority in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which is considered the first Ministry of Education in Poland because of its vast authority and autonomy. It was one of the newly set up Grand Commissions. Although initially the Comission had to face strong opposition inside of the Sejm, it was supported by the king and was given almost complete independence.

The chief figure of the Comission was a Catholic priest, Hugo Kołłątaj. As a rector of Kraków Academy, Hugo Kołłątaj intruduced lectures on Polish literature and natural sciences. He promoted new ideas in philosophy and science and established 4 new colleges of the Academy: of law, medicine, physics and theology. Kołłątaj prepared a three-level education plan encompassing:

In 1773 the Comission was granted much of the former property of the Jesuit order and it supervised two universities, 74 secondary schools and about 1600 parish schools.

Parochial schools - for peasants and burghers

District schools - mostly for children of the nobility, but children of lower classes were also

admitted

Universities - Academy of Warsaw, Academy of Vilnius and Academy of Kraków

Parochial schools - for peasants and burghers

District schools - mostly for children of the nobility, but children of lower classes were also

admitted

Universities - Academy of Warsaw, Academy of Vilnius and Academy of Kraków

The Commission prepared several documents describing the whole educational process. However, several of the new rules were

considered too revolutionary and often disobeyed– e.g. equality of both sexes in education.

The three universities - Warsaw, Vilnius and Cracow were granted the right of curatorship over schools of lower degree. They had the functions of today’s boards of education together with the executive

oversight and administration rights. The teachers (former Jesuit priests) were exchanged for young lay teachers.

The Comission faced a problem of an almost complete lack of books and manuals. To cope with that problem the Society of Elementary Books was formed. It was chaired by Ignacy Potocki. The Society sponsored competitions for creating the best textbooks in the Polish language. Lots of books on methodology, didactics and teaching guides were published to improve teaching methods.

27 elementary textbooks and manuals published by the Commission laid the foundations for the Polish language terminology in chemistry, physics, logics, grammar and mathematics. At times, the scientists who worked on the new Polish-language textbooks had to invent the requisite specialized vocabulary. Some of the Society's textbooks were in use as late as the Second Polish Republic (1918-39).

The Załuski Library

(built in Warsaw in 1747–95) The Comission of National Education also supervised the Załuski Library which was the first Polish public library, the largest library in Poland, and one of the earliest public libraries in Europe.

The library initially held some 200,000 items, which grew to some 400,000 printed items, maps and manuscripts by the end of the 1780s. It also accumulated a collection of art, scientific instruments, and plant and animal specimens

EffectsAlthough the Commission operated for 20 years, it managed to completely change the shape of education in Poland. The Enlightenment-based school programmes and books influenced a whole generation of Poles – education reached a much wider group of people, including peasants.

The activity of the Comission, Society and Library institutions contributed to the popularization of Polish language and secularization of Polish education. The activists stressed the importance of women’s education, patriotic upbringing and cooperation of educational institutions with the local community. The ideas promoting patriotism, knowledge and awareness helped to survive the years of captivity and did not let the education decline.

The 19th century

As a result of 3 partitions at the end of the 18th century, the territory of Poland was divided into 3 partitioners: Russian, Austrian and

Prussian. For almost 123 years of captivity (until 1918), occupiers were trying to destroy Polish culture and eliminate Polish language

from schools. Most schools were closed and illiteracy amounted to over 60% of the society. Children were taught in

Russian or German and the subjects of history and geography were removed

from schools. The only possibility to defend the Polish education and tradition was to organize the underground education. Polish activists prepared lectures and set up interest groups so as to

maintain the Polish language and support elementary education.

Underground educationPolish education was functioning

depending on the partitioner’s regulations. Within the territory of Russian rule, the Russian system was introduced and people under the Prussian rule were forced to learn German. Despite reprisals,

secret teaching was organized by Polish teachers and activists.

Patriotic ideas, so widely spread in the 18th century, helped the Polish nation to fight with the partitioners

and maintain elementary education. Until 1918, lots of societies and

educational institutions were formed so as to support secret

teaching.

Only within the teritory of Galicia, Polish language was allowed and schools of all levels were gradually restored. A special council supervising elementary and secondary education was set up in order to promote education and spread Polish language.

Among the increasing policies of Germanization and Russification, it became increasingly difficult for Poles to obtain a Polish higher education. Also, like in most parts of Europe at the time, the higher education opportunities for women that existed in the Russian Empire were severely limited, and teaching or research into some fields, like Polish language, Catholicism or Polish history, ranged from difficult to illegal.

Flying UniversityFlying University was an underground educational enterprise that operated from 1885 to 1905 in Warsaw. As a response to Russification or Germanization policies, and inspired by the Polish positivism movement, secret courses began in 1882 in private houses in Warsaw. At first it was a series the conspiratorial education courses for women. In 1885 it was transformed into a single, informal, and illegal, secret university open for both sexes known as the Flying University (the courses, spread throughout the city, often changed locations to prevent the Russian authorities from learning the location and arresting the teachers and students).

professors

The fees were used as gratification for the teachers, and to create a secret library. The

curriculum of the Flying University covered 5–6 years with 8–11hours per week and was divided

into four main subjects: social sciences, pedagogy, philology and history, and natural

sciences. The courses were attended by approximately 5,000 women and thousands of

men. The university contributed to popularization of higher education among women. After War World II more and more

women entered high schools and universities.

After the year1918...In 1918 a few Education Acts were implemented in an

independent Poland but the complete reform of the educational system took place in 1932 (structure and

programme). The most important changes were:• compulsory education

• Primary School free of charge• uniform general school programme

Polish education system had to survive the years of World War II and hard times

of Russian rule. The net of underground universityfaculties spread very rapidly. The professors organized

a net of secret high schools, trade schools and special courses of forbidden subjects. After 1945 lots of reforms and changes were

introduced. Until 1989 education became accessible for all the people and a lot of new schools were built.

However twisted and complicated Polish history may seem, we

never gave up learning. Although we always had to catch up with

the European trends, we managed to survive the hardest times in

history and never let the education recede into the

background. There is always something new, there is always a

beginning of something in education. We must improve and support education in each single

matter.

”The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”

Aristotle

Author: Aleksandra Raczak

Thank you for your attention!

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