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Organisational models of gymnasium in PolandIn 1999, as a result of reforms of the education system, a new type of lower secondary school, called gymnasium, was introduced in Poland. The main objectives of introducing the gymnasium were to equalize the educational opportunities of rural youth, improve the level of education and extend general education by one year. The reformers envisioned gymnasiums as an autonomous school, located in new, well-equipped buildings, or as schools functioning alongside existing secondary schools. After 16 years of operation, four structural models of gymnasiums evolved: autonomous gymnasium, aggregate gymnasium in a complex with a primary school, gymnasium in a complex with a primary school having the same catchment area, and gymnasium with upper secondary school. The article investigates the differences in the organisational characteristics for each model of gymnasium, educational outcomes from different types of school, and their geographic distribution. Results show that even though gymnasiums in a complex with an upper secondary school attain on average the best results on the gymnasium completion exam, the highest scores in teaching effectiveness are achieved by gymnasiums in complexes with a primary school having the same catchment area.Jan Herczyński, Aneta Sobotka, Educational Research Institute   Who wants to go to school? Lessons from reforming (back and forth) the school entry age in PolandThe goal of this paper – set in the context of the reform to lower the school starting age in Poland – is to investigate the determinants of parental decisions to enrol their six-year-old children in the 1st grade versus leaving them in preschool or preparatory class. It was found that starting school before the compulsory term occurs primarily in response to objective symptoms of a child’s readiness for school, but there is also some evidence for a deliberate investment in education by parents with a higher socio-economic status. Finally, early enrolment may also be driven by a cost-reducing strategy. The discussion highlights the possible reasons for the political failure of school age reform, which was recently cancelled after having been gradually introduced for six years. Mikołaj Herbst, Educational Research Institute The goal of this paper – set in the context of the reform to lower the school starting age in Poland – is to investigate the determinants of parental decisions to enrol their six-year-old children in the 1st grade versus leaving them in preschool or preparatory class. It was found that starting school before the compulsory term occurs primarily in response to objective symptoms of a child’s readiness for school, but there is also some evidence for a deliberate investment in education by parents with a higher socio-economic status. Finally, early enrolment may also be driven by a cost-reducing strategy. The discussion highlights the possible reasons for the political failure of school age reform, which was recently cancelled after having been gradually introduced for six years. Parents’ engagement in the education of lower secondary school students with and without special educational needs – which strategies bring expected results?This article presents an analysis of approaches to the engagement of parents in the education of lower secondary school students with and without special educational needs (SEN), as well as its effect on school achievement. The analysis of the results from almost 1500 Polish lower secondary school students, including almost 300 students assessed as SEN, showed that parents in both groups varied in their strategies to help their children. Parents of students with SEN more often directly helped their children with homework, although this strategy negatively correlated with school achievement for both groups. The results opposed a widely held claim that students with SEN require alternative types of parental support. These findings may, therefore, have a practical role for shaping parental and teacher’ beliefs about the most effective ways to improve the achievement of lower secondary school students. The goal of this paper – set in the context of the reform to lower the school starting age in Poland – is to investigate the determinants of parental decisions to enrol their six-year-old children in the 1st grade versus leaving them in preschool or preparatory class. It was found that starting school before the compulsory term occurs primarily in response to objective symptoms of a child’s readiness for school, but there is also some evidence for a deliberate investment in education by parents with a higher socio-economic status. Finally, early enrolment may also be driven by a cost-reducing strategy. The discussion highlights the possible reasons for the political failure of school age reform, which was recently cancelled after having been gradually introduced for six years. Transforming the educational style of the working class in PolandThe article presents the impact of the introduction of lower secondary schools on the educational style of the working classes in Poland. This particular reform is seen as one of the elements of change to the education system adapting it to the general parameters of post-Fordism. The author supports the theory of Pierre Bourdieu, which states that society is divided into three social classes (upper, middle and popular) and each of them produces a specific lifestyle and style of education. The education style of a class provides individuals with certain dispositions to educational institutions and school careers, which are realised in the form of social practices (selection of specific type of schools, learning techniques, ways of spending time, etc.). The changes taking place in the education system in Poland over the last 15 years, i.e. since the 1999 reform, are similar to processes that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s in western countries. They include the economisation of education, the parameterisation and quantification of educational results, as well as the introduction of market mechanisms for managing and financing state-owned schools. The article is based on individual in-depth interviews conducted during two field studies organised in 2013–2014: Cultural practices of the working class (120 IDIs) and Class differences in cultural practices in the North-Eastern Poland (60 IDIs). The findings become the basis of formulating new theoretical and research proposals for the field of education.Przemysław Sadura, Institute of Sociology, University of Warsaw Reading engagement and school achievement of lower secondary school studentsThe article focuses on the value of reading and the enjoyment of this activity by students of lower secondary schools. The subject of the analysis is the relationship of different factors on attitudes towards reading: gender and the social status of students’ families. The aim of the analysis is to learn if reading books and engagement in reading could overcome the negative influence of low social and cultural capital and gender on reading performance and educational outcomes. The study is based on the results of three editions of the national study on reading habits and attitudes among students of lower secondary schools conducted in 2003, 2010, 2013 and two editions of the PISA international survey from 2000 and 2009.Zofia Zasacka, Krzysztof Bulkowski, Educational Research Institute |