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national level. For example organizers of nationwide program “School of equal
opportunities” which is financed from European Social Fund.
Results of our activities can be considered on three levels. Participants of projects get
the opportunity to develop some important abilities (over 250 000 young people
participated in donated projects), people implementing projects are provided with access to
valuable experience and necessary knowledge (a group of over 500 people implementing
projects are now more experienced). And last, but not least, the communities, where the
projects were implemented get the chance to learn from the examples of equalizing
educational opportunities (thanks to ours projects over 100 non-governmental
organizations were formed).
The 1999 Reform of Education, as a Tool (?) of Equalizing Educational
Opportunities 1
Shortly about the Reform
General aims of the 1999 reform of education were to:
− increase the level of education of the society through popularizing secondary
and higher education,
− equalize an educational opportunities,
− undertake actions out of concern for the quality of education considered as a
integral part of the process of upbringing.
One of the serious problems of the Polish educational system before the reform in 1999
was a steadily decreasing number of children at school age, due to a demographic shift.
The schools were more and more empty, yet the costs of maintaining them did not
change.
It was necessary to coordinate the management of schools with the local governments.
Other problems were: the unequal level of schooling in different schools, the
disproportions in educational opportunities of young people with different backgrounds
and the low percentage of students in general high schools and going to universities.
A change of the school system was supposed to be the remedy to many problems.
Instead of the old system: 8 (years of primary school) + 4 (years of high school) it was
changed into: 6 (years of primary school) + 3 (years of junior high school – gimnazjum) + 3
(years of high school). Bringing junior high schools into being, was supposed to have a vital
meaning for equalizing educational chances. The junior high schools were promised to be
especially well equipped, so they could really act as places of making young people equal.
Teachers' Opinions on the 1999 Reform
According to the teachers, the goals and means of the reform were unrealistic from the
very beginning. Many students cannot cope with a new, unknown school environment.
The fact of going to school with children of different backgrounds might lead to
equalizing chances, provided that students with different backgrounds get into contact and
1 The following charter is based on the author's study of interviews with teachers. The results of this research were
presented in the text: Walczak D., Zahorska M. 2006: Krajobraz po .reformie. Opinie nauczycieli na temat reformy
edukacji z 1999 roku, Wrocław and they will be published in a text: Zahorska M., Walczak D., O osobliwościach
nauczycielskiej duszy w: Nowak A., Winkowska–Nowak K., Rycielska L., Szkoła w dobie internetu (in print).
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