Education and Social Participation of Polish Youth

Based on two studies carried out in the school years 2003/2004 and 2016/2017, this article looks into what knowledge and research experience young Poles have concerning education and the social participation of Polish youngsters. Referring to Robert Havighurst’s concept of developmental tasks and Jerzy Modrzewski’s concept of social participation, the author of the current paper shows Polish youth to be deficient in knowledge of how to fulfil life’s tasks and participate in society, and of the duties of education in the field of shaping and activating social and public engagement. These deficiencies show that the Polish school system is dominated by education detached from practice and that learners are not prepared for undertaking adult social roles through active participation in public life. This lack results from a process of legitimizing, which ensures ‘the loyalty of the masses’ and perpetuates existing cultural patterns without co-participation in social or public life. The ensuing analysis provides educators with knowledge of the developmental needs of Polish youth, makes the numerous determinants of developmental tasks more transparent, and allows for specifying the results of socialization processes (including educational socialization).