Social inequality Youth Education Educational aspirations Reproduction of social barriers

Regarding education as an investment A diploma as a market commodity Sector of higher education as a field of investment Polish educational system

Popularization of education The functioning of the educational system – restricting access to preschools, less qualified teachers etc. Financial standings – growing impoverishment Cultural capital of the rural community

According to Collins (1971) and Bourdieu (1986), while for a children from intellectual families the cultural capital received from home is a trump card, for those born in the country it is a barrier strengthening the selection which takes place between secondary schools and universities.

Pre school attendance: a) Rural areas % 2003/ % 1990 b) Urban areas % 2003/ % 1990 In Poland by 30.9 %

Modernized after 1999 education reform Until 1999: pre schools, 8 year primary schools, secondary schools (grammar schools, vocational schools, technical colleges) From – year primary school, lower secondary schools, post-lower secondary schools, college or studies

1999 city schools inc. 9.6 % - pupils 13.2 % dec. Countryside schools 11.1 % dec. – 4.1 % pupils inc – 2000 lower secondary schools inc. 2.4 %

2005, 251 post lower secondary schools in rural areas (2,517) Vocational and general vocational schools 1,038 – 7,456 Higher education schools % 1990, 24-34% in European countries 2% from countryside

1990 – % - 57 % 1990 – % - 5 % vocational schools % % People with higher education % %

% % 1999 primary education 37.8 % % among people from rural areas Among women % %

Strengthens social diversification In cities 10.3 % of population In the country 3.9 % of population

National Report 2002 Metropolitan areas 20% people with higher education Peripheral less then 5% Areas located km from Warsaw within a radius of km from Szczecin, Poznan, Olsztyn etc. below 3-6%

PISA – Program for International Student Assessment Among 15 year olds – post primary school 3 yearly – successive rounds of tests Comprehension, mathematics, scientific thinking

Finding information in texts of varied form Interpreting text Reflection and assessment Rank: 5 th level is the best 1 st is the weakest 2000 Polish students - level 3 80% of pupils from countryside were illiterate

15 % without sports room – replacement rooms No water or toilets 50% without reading room No libraries, internet (three times worse than in cities), computers 27% (12% in cities)

82% of primary and 76% of lower secondary schools in countryside – 3 hours waiting for the bus Disqualified teachers – more subjects Specialists going to schools is limited

TNS OBOP – Ministry of Education 80% of pupils continued their studies after lower secondary schools (2003) 37% secondary schools, 28% technical colleges, 15% profiled secondary schools, 14% basic vocational schools 44% leave their village, secondary schools 50%+

Improving changes Expenditure for the educational system Level of education Modernization of the system Increasing participation of education Improving quality and effectiveness of education