Early Childhood Education in Poland

1. Early Childhood Education in Poland By: Lauren Parker

2. Poland became independent in 1918 • Became a soviet state after World War II and was overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union • 1989-1990 Poland won back unity

3. Ethnic Groups • 96.6% of the people in Poland are Polish • 1.1% are Silesian • 0.2% are German • 0.1% are Ukrainian • 1.7% unspecified • Population = 38,346,279 • 89.8% of the people are Roman Catholic • https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html

4. Education • Early Childhood Education is very important in Poland • Immediate experiences done in schools are very crucial to a child’s learning • Process-person-context model determines how early experiences effect long term and short term memory in children

5. What children learn in school affects their development later in life • Just being present in school (namely kindergarten) is very beneficial to a child’s learning • (Karwowska-Struczyk, 1998).

6. Public vs. Private School • Public School • Educational Policy favors • Private School • Run by social organizations and associations • Expanded in 1990 • Educational Policy refused for these schools to take over • Meant to compliment what the sate has to offer

7. Public vs. Private School Public Private • Measure of assessment = Comparable indicators of education quality and student performance • Has been established as a permanent education system • Advantage: independece • (Piwowarski, 2006)

8. 406 Polish seven year olds • Analyze language competence and reading comprehension • Children had best language and reading if their parents had gone to college • Poland has standards of where a child should be in their development when it comes to education

9. Sex and background of child can influence learning • Children analyzed exceeded Poland’s requirements • (Bielen, Malkowska-Zegadlo, 1998).

10. ECE in the U.S. • Ece programs are beginning to be more recognized and valued in the United States • Increased resources • More children are going to full-time preschools • (Levine Coley, McPherranLombardi, Sims, & Votruba-Drzal)

11. Education is key for future success, financially • Children who have good experiences in school at a young age will do better in school later on • Children who come from low income families typically do not go to high quality preschools • The goal is to get every child into a high quality preschool • Administration investing $75 billion to a new partnership

12. Investing time and money to make the best possible preschools • This is needed because early childhood education is very important to build the foundation of learning • (“Early Learning, 2013).

13. Geography and Polish Education • Geography isn’t an important subject to teach in Polish schools • One lessen a week in secondary schools • (Pirog & Tracz, 2003) • Important to note that one lessen per week is not much time at all

14. Higher Education in Poland • Higher education institutions developed in Poland because of the high demand • Being developed, but for a fee • (Jalowiecki, 2001). • Very similar to higher education in the U.S.

15. Comparing Poland and the U.S. • Similar when it comes to ages of schooling • However, there is no middle school- instead they have gymnasium, which is what we call middle school in the United States • http://www.buwiwm.edu.pl/publ/edu/index4.htm

16. References Karwowska-Struczyk, M. (1998). Children's Activities and their Effect on Child Development: The results of the IEA Pre-primary Project in Poland. International Journal Of Early Years Education, 6(2), 207. Piwowarski, R. (2006). The Role Of Non-public Schools In Modern Education Systems: A Polish Perspective. International Review Of Education / InternationaleZeitschriftFürErziehungswissenschaft, 52(5), 397-407. doi:10.1007/s11159-006-9000-5 Bielén, B., & Malkowska-Zegadlo, H. (1998). Developmental Achievements of 7-year-old Children in Poland in the Light of International Tests and the Requirements of the Polish Language School Program. International Journal Of Early Years Education, 6(2), 185.

17. Coley, R., Lombardi, C., Sims, J., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2013). Early education and care experiences and cognitive skills development. Family Matters, (93), 36-49. • EARLY LEARNING: America's Middle Class Promise Begins Early. (2013). Education Digest, 79(2), 58-60. • Pirág, D., & Tracz, M. (2003). The Status of Geography in the Polish Education System. International Research In Geographical & Environmental Education, 12(2), 164-170.

18. Jałowiecki, B. (2001). Prospects for the Development of Private Higher Education in Poland. Higher Education In Europe, 26(3), 421-425. doi:10.1080/03797720120115997 • http://www.buwiwm.edu.pl/publ/edu/index4.htm • https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html

20. Different or similar? • Although there are some differences in education in the United States and Poland, there are more similarities. • There is a lot of focus on early childhood experiences in both countries, which is the biggest similarity.