Marzena WALASZEK, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan , Poland
On December 14, 2016, the Polish Sejm adopted the Education Law, which is the basis for the reform of the education system in Poland in the following years. This act defines a new structure of education, consisting of an eight-year primary school, and then, to be chosen by graduates of primary schools, a four-year high school, a five-year technical secondary school, and a three-year first-cycle vocational school. The change of education cycles from three-cycle to two-cycle was the most important change in the education system in Poland in recent years, and was related mainly to the necessity to liquidate lower secondary schools.
Pursuant to the act on municipal self-government, one of the tasks of municipalities in Poland is to meet the collective needs of the community in the field of primary education, these tasks in turn at the level of secondary education are performed by the district self-government. Therefore, the implementation of the assumptions of the educational reform in Poland rested largely with local governments. One of the first and the most important tasks of local governments was the necessity to adapt the local school network to the new school system.
The aim of the presentation will be to present the main assumptions of the reform of the education system in Poland, and above all, the role of local governments in the process of their implementation. Among other things, the main tasks of local government units in Poland related to the implementation of the reform will be characterized, as well as the consequences of this reform for citizens regarding, inter alia, location and availability of schools at various levels, changes in education cycles or free choice of schools.
Mots clés : education reform|local education policy|school network|educational cycles|local government
A104984MW