author: Marta Czarkowska

Introduction From year to year it becomes harder to get a job in Poland. This applies to people with secondary education, as well as to masters and engineers. This problem is noticeable even by youth from secondary schools. Choosing school becomes extremely difficult because young people look for school which will prepare them best to the final exam and future studies. These people do not attach much importance to the distance between their homes and chosen schools. Many people choose institutions in bigger cities. I conducted a poll to know more about these people, their expectations and problems they have to face.

An exemplar of the poll

About the poll In order to collect data for my research I conducted a survey in four schools in Łódź, shown below: III High School- form majoring at biology & chemistry, VIII High School – form majoring at humanities, Public High School of the Technical University of Łódź- form majoring at maths and physics, Public High School of the University of Łódź – form majoring at maths and geography. 46 people completed the poll.

III High School There are 30 students in this form. 12 of them live outside Łódź and they constitute 40% of the class.

VIII High School There are 28 students in this form. 12 of them live outside Łódź and this is 42,87% of the form.

Public High School of the Technical University of Łódź There are 26 students in this form 13 of them live outside Łódź and this is 50% of the form.

Public High School of the University of Łódź There are 27 students in this form. 9 of them live outside Łódź and this is 33,33 % of the form.

III High School Out of 12 people from other cities, for nine journey to school takes between 30 minutes and an hour, and for four – between 1 and 1,5 hour.

VIII High School All 12 people from other countries spend between 30 minutes and an hour travelling to school.

Public High School of the Technical University of Łódź Out of 13 people from other countries: for one journey to school takes up to 30 minutes, for four from 30 minutes to an hour, for three from 1 to 1,5 hour and for five more than 1,5 hour.

Public High School of the University of Łódź Of the 9 people from other countries: four access takes up to 30 minutes, five from 1 to 1,5 hour.

In all of the forms people pointed out the same problems: Timetables of public transport and trains are inadequate to students and their daily schedule, Means of transport are often late or they do not arrive.

The vast majority, as much as 73,91% of the polled people, chose school in Łódź because of higher level of education. A common cause is also a much smaller selection of institutions in some localities or, as in case of 6% of the respondents, a total lack of them. Only two people declared that other people like friends or family had influenced their choice.

Conclusion People who live outside Łódź constitute 41,44% of all surveyed forms. Because of a higher level of education and wider choice of institutions they chose to study in this city. Relatively good access allows them to be in their schools in less than an hour, often by direct bus or tram connection. Being aware of how necessary it is to be educated at an appropriate level, young people want to gain it. They are determined to such an extent that they commute to Łódź from places which are located even 48 kilometers from Łódź.