From educational experiment to an alternative to the national programme. International Baccalaureate Programmes in Poland – policy and practice perspectives

Abstract

The goal of this study is to examine the distinctive features of International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes in Poland, and the role of IB programmes in the Polish education system. To address this aim, a review of the relevant legislation has been carried out, accompanied by interviews with teachers and students in 9 IB schools in Poland. Results revealed that even though the functions of IB schools differ somewhat from country to country, there appear to be several common features underpinning the development of IB in Poland: (1) the deregulatory policy of establishing international schools after the socio-political changes of the 1990s, (2) the growing demand for internationally validated programmes among students that come to Poland from abroad, and (3) a growing aspiration among students and their parents for a wider selection of programmes to choose from compared to the limited choices available in Poland during the communist era.