The Image of Historical Anniversaries in the Education System of the Republic of Poland on the Example of Civic Education

Abstract

The subject of this article is historical anniversaries in the Polish education system. Due to the breadth of the research topic, considerations were limited to one subject: civic education implemented in upper secondary schools (general secondary schools and technical schools). The author of this text encompasses two subjects under the term “civic education”: social studies at the basic level (2018 core curriculum), and history and the present (2022 core curriculum). The aim of the study was to determine the scope and manner of presenting historical anniversaries during civic education lessons. The research question addressed is as follows: to what extent did changes to the core curriculum for civic education in the studied upper secondary schools address the issue of presenting historical anniversaries? The adopted methodological assumptions influenced the choice of research methods. Among them, the following were of primary importance: the method of analysis and criticism of literature (sources), the method of document analysis, the comparative method, and the systemic approach.
Research findings indicate that the 2018 and 2022 core curriculum for civic education differed significantly in terms of the inclusion of historical anniversaries. The 2018 regulation was based on a social science perspective, with the primary goal of the subject being analyzed being the development of civic skills and competencies. This does not mean that there was no scope for addressing historical anniversaries, but they did not constitute the primary focus of study. The situation was different in the 2022 core curriculum. In this case, historical anniversaries constituted an important component of civic education, which was related to the adoption of a new model of civic education, i.e., a national-conservative model.