Polish Higher Education and Global Changes – the Neoinstitutional Perspective (CPP RPS 12/2008)

Abstract

This working paper offers general account of changes in higher education in Poland after abolishing the communist system in 1989. It aims to draw a research framework for further, more complex research project that is designed to provide understanding to changes of higher education Poland. There has been much of discussion on the subject both inside and outside the academia as the Polish higher education has recently experienced a wide range of deep and quite rapid changes. Notwithstanding a flourishing discourse, it remains fairly unclear in which direction the Polish higher education is heading to and what kind of social forces, political principles or cultural values can possibly drive it there. Even some doubts arose if there is any particular end toward which the higher education sustainably develops. Also some serious claims have been expressed about the Polish higher education being chaotically dragged by spontaneous organized interest groups.