Research project Heritage language education: The case of complementary Polish State Schools
In this research project, we investigate complementary Polish State Schools. The purpose of the project is to better understand how the schools can contribute to multilingual children's language and knowledge development. To find out this, we analyze, among other things, policy documents and the teachers' ideologies.
Project description
The purpose of this research project is to increase our knowledge about complementary heritage language education with a particular focus on complementary Polish State Schools. These schools offer a free supplementary education in Polish for Polish-speaking children outside Poland, and submit to the Center for Development of Polish Education Abroad, which is a part of the Polish Ministry of National Education.
The education covers both elementary school and high school, and includes two subjects: Polish Language (including literature) and Knowledge of Poland, a subject that contains Polish culture, geography and history, with four teaching hours per week on average. A child may attend such a complementary school provided that he or she is enrolled in the official school system of the country of residence.
Brief history
In total, there are 70 schools in 36 countries; during the school year 2022/2023, the schools provided education to approximately 16,000 pupils by nearly 600 teachers. The schools were created by the Polish state in the mid-1960s under the influence of Polish diplomats and government employees abroad. The aim was to avoid Soviet indoctrination, as until the mid-1960s one had to educate one's children within the Soviet education system by Russian teachers in Russian.
Project members
Project managers
Dorota Lubinska
Senior lecturer
Publications
Lubińska, D. (inskickat).
The Polish population and its language in Sweden. I: P. Romanowski & A. Seretny (Red.), Polish as a heritage language across the world. Routledge.
More about this project
Conference contribution
Lubińska, D. (2023, juni). Exploring a cross-border heritage language education policy: The case of Polish. [Konferenspresentation – poster]. International Symposium on Bilingualism 14, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australien 26-30 juni, Diversity now.
Lubińska, D. (2018, november). Polska skolor i Norden. Institutionell inramning i ett kritiskt perspektiv Preliminära resultat [Konferenspresentation]. Högskolan Dalarna, Falun 12–13 november 2018, Modersmål, minoritet och mångfald. Flerspråkiga identiteter i en nordisk utbildningskontext.