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POLISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPEAN "LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME" E. Kula
Adjusting education systems to the needs of contemporary societies is one of the most important directions of changes in the educational sphere in the vast majority of countries. During the past ten years Polish school has undergone significant transformations. New types of higher education establishments have been introduced, transition from elitist universities to common (mass) higher education has been completed. In the school year 2004-2005, 1337 thousand students attended higher education institutions1.
These days, as the demands of the job market tend to increase gradually, obtaining higher education qualifications does not guarantee that one should find a satisfactory job, which is caused not only by the discrepancy between area of study with the job market needs, but also by the competition among people with higher education and devaluation of once obtained knowledge, skills and abilities. This is exactly why the fundamental requirement of the Bologna Declaration, relating to higher education and Copenhagen Declaration2, is adjusting curriculum to meet the economy's needs. Within this context, lifelong education takes on a special meaning. In the light of Federico Mayors report-Un monde noveau, university should open itself to the world of work and the society's needs3.
Polish lifelong education's tasks are exactly the same as ones defined in the European strategies and provisions of treaties and are implemented in accordance with both legal deeds and international agreements. Lifelong education as one of the forms of increasing access to higher education shall become an integral part of universities' activity. In the face of the decrease of school population, universities will soon face an alternative: wThether to expand educational offer for adults or reduce activity coverage (and so employment as well). The number of young people in Poland aged between 19 and 24 is gradually decreasing: from 3,944,000 in 2003 and 3,961,600 in 2004 to, predictably, 3,367,300 in 2010 and 2,809,600. It is anticipated that by 2030 the number of young people may even decrease to 2,007,8004.
' http://www.cepes.ro/information_services/statistics.htm
2 Copenhagen Declarationn 2002, is the effect of the cooperation between 31 European countries in the field of vocational education and training (VET) that laid the foundation for the European Area of Lifelong Education.
3 E Mayor, un monde nouveau, UNESCO 1999, translation into Polish: Przyszlosc swiata, (edited by W.Rabczuk), Warsaw 2001, page 389.
4 OECD thematic review of tertiary education country background report for Poland, Warsaw 2006, page 16. /http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/49/55/37231744.pdf
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In Poland, the Lifelong education development strategy (2003-2010) was developed and adopted in 2003 and it aims to build the European dimension in lifelong education under the Polish conditions5.
In order to adapt lifelong learning to the various types of target groups, the lifelong education offer should cover: extramural and evening studies (in the varipus levels of study, also III level), postgraduate studies, courses (enabling certification of qualifications), individual courses.
Part of this offer should, as in many other countries, consist of in-service training, developed and implemented in cooperation with companies (as well as on companies' individual requests). Some lifelong education forms, and specialized courses in particular, shall also be offered to the regular studies' students that wish to obtain certification of certain professional qualifications.
European Parliament and Council of the European Union established on November 15, 2006 "Lifelong Learning Programme", which most general objective is to contribute, by promoting lifelong education, to creation of knowledge-based EU's society, one with sustainable economic development, more and better jobs, and greater social cohesion, ensuring simultaneously proper protection of natural environment for future generations.
The specific objectives of the "Lifelong Learning Programme" are: (a) contribution to the lifelong education's quality improvement, promoting pursuance for best results possible, innovations and European dimension in education system and practice in this field; (b) supporting the establishment of European Area of Lifelong Learning, (c) improving the quality, attractiveness and availability of lifelong education offers in Member States; (d) enforcing contribution of the programme to social cohesion, active citizenship, intercultural dialogue, gender equality and self-realization, (e) assistance in supporting creativity, competitiveness, employability and spirit of entrepreneurship.
Programme aims to foster the exchange, mobility and cooperation between education systems and training courses within the European Union, so that they become internationally recognized quality models. "Lifelong Learning Programme" doe$ consist of four sector programmes (Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig), Inter-Sector Programme and Jean Monnet programme.
Still, one must be conscious of the fact that the fundamental requirement imposed upon both students and alumni is mobility understood as ability to
5 E. Kula, M. PAkowska, Rola wyzszego wyksztatcenia w Europie i wPolsce wprocesie edukacji ustawicznej [w:] Szkolnictwo wyzsze w Europie i w Polsce w swietle zalozen i realizacji procesu bolonskiego, edited by E. Kula, M. Pekowska, Kielce 2004, pages 237-254; second corrected and complemented edition, Kielce 2006, pages 423-450.
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use knowledge, to have the use of appropriate databases and to collect acquired knowledge, realizing that in future it may serve others or provide basis for fur ther research.
Currently, Erasmus enters a new phase as a part of new complex UE programme. Poland has participated in Erasmus since 1998. In school year 2004/2005 the number of students involved in a project amount to 8,390, and in 2005/2006 - 9,9746. The majority of students left to Germany, France and Spain. In academic year 2006/2007 240 (out of 440) Polish higher education institutions, 104 public and 136 non-public ones, participate in programme. Decision establishing Erasmus programme states that students exchange within the Erasmus framework should enable at least ten percent of European students to realize part of the study programme in partner foreign university. Nevertheless in the whole Europe, and particularly in Poland, it is really difficult to achieve such a goal. The smallest representation have two fields of study: medicine and pedagogy, in Poland- social communication and agricultural studies. In regard to academic teachers exchange, Poland places fourth, after Germany, Spain and France. Poles predominatingly left for Germany. The consecutive places took France, Spain, Ital and Portugal. A 'new' Member state that was visited by Polish teachers most often was Czech Republic. Also, some courses were delivered by Polish lecturers in Slovenian, Slovak, Latvians, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian universities.
The students and teachers mobility is presently one of the most important objectives of the Bologna strategy. The process of establishing European Higher Education Area is one of the elements of broadly understood European Education Area creation and as such bears relation to the process of establishing the European Area of Lifelong Learning and European Area of Vocational Education, known as Copenhagen Process or Bruges-Copenhagen Process, both of which are key elements that are to lead to created by politicians vision - Europe of Knowledge. Increasing the role of Polish schools in the practical process of lifelong learning conceptions realization and improving their activities according to the "Lifelong Learning Programme" objectives will serve building the Europe of Knowledge.
Translated by author
6Erasmus w Polsce w roku akademickim 2004/2005. Wyjazdy studentiiw i nauczycieli aka-demickich, Warszawa 2006.
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