**Intercultural Education in Poland: Experiences, Problems and Prospects Problems and Prospects**

**Intercultural Education in Poland: Experiences,** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.71010

Ewa Ogrodzka-Mazur Ewa Ogrodzka-Mazur Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71010

#### **Abstract**

The study presents an assessment of the achievements and problems of intercultural pedagogy as an important educational (sub)discipline, which has been developing intensively in Poland—particularly since the 1990s. Against the background of a crisis of multicultural education, a new suggestion was presented aimed at overcoming its drawbacks in the form of the theoretical assumptions and practical solutions of intercultural education. However, understanding and accepting intercultural education depend on many factors, for example, historical experiences, the developmental level of societies and the sociopolitical system. This necessitates presenting the essence of intercultural education as well as formulating its message both in Poland and worldwide.

**Keywords:** pedagogy, intercultural pedagogy, multicultural education, intercultural education, scientific schools in Poland

### **1. Introduction**

For almost last three decades, the studies on intercultural education have become a part of the Polish social discourse concerning the issues of multiculturalism, the feeling of national, civil, ethnic, religious and cultural identity or the relationships between people of different nationalities and cultures. Social experiences and daily practice confirm the constant need for opening to other communities and their cultures, which means the need for implementing reliable intercultural education. On the other hand, a return to multicultural education can be observed: minority groups again focus on the lasting of their own culture, and researchers, with growing frequency, focus on a selected culture or minority group. In this way, the field of studies and educational practice has been limited and significantly impoverished [1].

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

Contemporary societies search for solutions to many problems resulting, among other things, from the rapid development of the industrial-informational civilization. The size and nature of this phenomenon is shown by many researchers, who draw attention to the so-called *paradoxical socialization* [2]—people are forced to shape their own life without control over its determinants. This is related to the disintegration of the society into many fields of activity, which do not constitute any unity. The lack of moving around within a unified area of life imposes what is described as *biographical coordination of diversified behavioural logics* [2]*.* Moreover, tradition and family education are substituted by institutions, media and individual choices. Thus, conducting reliable intercultural education makes it possible to discover and understand oneself from the perspective of noticing and evaluating others. Its fundamental task is shaping the feeling of identity, understood as 'the subject's creative effort indispensable and necessary in the multicultural world, soothing the tensions and contradictions between the constant elements, which are inherited and result from social rooting in a family and local community, the identification with significant people and groups, indigenous symbols and values, and the changeable elements, which are acquired and result from interaction and the experience of participation in culture and social structures. Such understanding of identity opens to the dialogue of cultures, in which the mutual participation in the process of opening to each other is a source of power and raises the feeling of pride because of belonging to a particular group' [3–5].

studies in the Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian-Ukrainian borderland (Jerzy Nikitorowicz's team from the University of Białystok), the Polish-Czech borderland in Cieszyn Silesia (Tadeusz Lewowicki's team from the University of Silesia) and the Polish-German-Czech-Slovak borderland (Zenon Jasiński's team from the University of Opole). Intercultural studies are also conducted by university units (departments, chairs and teams) in Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk,

Intercultural Education in Poland: Experiences, Problems and Prospects

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71010

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Some universities implement didactic classes in intercultural education, students' internships concerning this education are also conducted, and there are students' research teams dealing with it. The issues of multiculturalism and intercultural education are frequently explored in

According to Tadeusz Lewowicki, the educational experiences and scientific output of the environments exploring intercultural education allow for formulating the opinion that these accomplishments can constitute the basis for elaborating a synthesis, comprising an outline of intercultural education as a pedagogical discipline. In contrast to the earlier cases of using the term intercultural education (in the German and English language literature) [7], when the name comprised some versions of multicultural education and/or only some issues typical of scientific disciplines were taken into account, in the current approach, there is a space for all fundamental components of a scientific discipline and the determinants of its viability [8]. In the case of Polish studies, the components of intercultural education are the following:

• a clearly outlined concept of intercultural education and the understanding of pedagogy pertaining to this field of education. Promoting (in scientific works on intercultural education) such an approach to the issues consists of a coherent set of views and beliefs, which indicates the reflection and activities concerning intercultural education. Referring to the definition formulated by Laurence Kohlberg and Rochelle Mayer [9], it can be assumed that

• within educational reflection and practice, a particular relatively precise language is used: in other words, a particular notional network. As it usually occurs in humanities, some of the notions have been borrowed from other disciplines, and some have been attributed the sense typical of intercultural education. What is indicated in Polish pedagogical studies on interculturalism is the need for referring to theories and concepts concerning social behaviour. 'This means justified aiming at better understanding of social phenomena and processes. However, as in the field of pedagogy it is rather difficult to find satisfying theories or concepts, the representatives of this discipline reach into the output of the related disciplines. For years, sociology has been one of them. Others are social psychology or socializing (at the border of sociology) currents of psychology. More references also appear – to historical and cultural studies, studies on politics and religion. Still, it seems that what prevails are the associations with sociology, sociological interpretations of the life of multicultural communities. […] Sociology and psychology enhance the understanding of social situations and behaviours, they suggest various explanations, interpretations' [10]. The confrontation of different approaches—called by Tadeusz Lewowicki sociologism and pedagogism—allows to 'notice important differentiations in the reasoning and acting specific to each of these approaches. In the case of intercultural education, this is a chance

Kraków, Lublin, Poznań, Toruń, Warsaw and Zielona Góra.

BA and MA theses, as well as in doctoral or habilitation dissertations.

what is dealt with is the legible ideology of intercultural education;

As the approach promoted in Poland, the ideas and practice of intercultural education seem to deserve broader dissemination abroad. Partially, this has been taking place [6], yet the message of intercultural education should reach even more societies. It is important to act for this education, being fully aware that this is going to be a long process but that it will bring appropriate fruit as well.

These high expectations, requiring pedagogical optimism and the feeling of educational selfeffectiveness, might raise doubts and questions among intercultural educators why they are addressed to them. Obviously, these are obligations of all people responsible for education and moral shaping. Yet, special addressees are the communities that have a clear vision of education that brings people together, opens to others and their cultures: the communities with important experiences and achievements.
