“This reform is about eliminating the education that teaches pride in being Polish”—Pedagogue and Theologian Zbigniew Barciński

Zbigniew Barciński is a Polish theologian with a doctorate in pedagogy. He is the president of the Association of Educators NATAN (Stowarzyszenie Pedagogów NATAN), focusing on religious education and family issues, and a member of the Council of the Coalition for the Safeguarding of the Polish School. Dr. Barciński spoke with europeanconservative.com about the monumental changes the current Polish government is making to the educational system, and the—very much intended—effects they could have on the growing generation.

With the change of government in Poland, we are witnessing a slow but gradual implementation of left-wing programs. What reforms does the Minister of National Education, Barbara Nowacka, want to impose?

Nowacka wants to completely rebuild the Polish school. She intends to change the purpose and function of the school. This transformation of Polish education consists of many elements: The removal of content related to Polish history and national identity from the reading list and from the curriculum; the removal of the subject of Education for Family Life and its replacement by Health Education; the removal of the subject of History and Current Events and its replacement by Civic Education; and finally, the marginalization of religion classes, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them from school. Added to this is inclusive (integrative) education and restrictions on the assignment and evaluation of homework. It should also be noted that all this is related to the European Education Area.  

So, are the reforms in education an idea of Nowacka or do they come from Brussels? What is their origin?

It is a very broad topic. I would just point out a few aspects that, in my opinion, are key. As for the ideological sources, the left-liberal concept of education and training should be pointed out here. Its essence is the destruction of the hitherto existing Western European (Latin, Mediterranean) culture, built on values such as the family, the nation and the Christian religion. In its place, it seeks to establish a new social order, based on the idea of unlimited freedom. Some call it ‘new generation Marxism.’ As for the institutional sources, it is mainly the authorities of the European Union, who aspire to build a centralized state instead of the union of states that has existed until now. One of the elements for building such a centralized state is the introduction throughout the Union of a uniform educational program, i.e., the European Education Area, the aim of which is to build in the young generation a European and not a national identity.

What kind of school does Nowacka’s Ministry of National Education want?

A school that teaches patriotism, family values, supports religious development and encourages the acquisition of knowledge is, according to the Ministry, something obsolete, something to be rejected. The Ministry of National Education, under the leadership of Minister B. Nowacka, wants another kind of school: a school that forms the European identity, that promotes the claims of LGBT groups, a school in which the level of teaching is adapted to the weakest pupils. 

They have started with the removal of compulsory homework in schools. What is the real objective of these measures? 

The restrictions on the assignment and evaluation of homework are, as I have already said, part of a broader whole. It is about reducing the level of school education. It is also about blocking the development of the ability to work independently to acquire valuable knowledge, about blocking the development of the ability for self-learning. It seems that the Ministry of Education rejects the idea that school should support students in acquiring valuable knowledge, that it is a place where students are required to do serious work and where this work is evaluated. On the contrary, there are many indications that the Ministry of Education has the idea that the school should guarantee students a pleasant time free of work and evaluations (because evaluations, by definition, ‘discriminate’: some get better grades and others get worse). This vision of a stress-free school includes, among other things, restrictions on the assignment and assessment of homework or the reduction of the level of demand in mathematics in the new mathematics curriculum. And they believe that this vision of the school will ensure the ‘well-being’ of the students.

Does the idea of inclusive education also fit into this vision of ‘a school without work, without qualifications and without discrimination’? What is it based on?

Yes, exactly. It is about children with different types of developmental deficits, with intellectual disabilities, learning in schools together with children who do not have those deficits. The aim is that in the same class there are people with very different knowledge and abilities to acquire that knowledge. In theory, this promotes integration: all children benefit, both those with and without developmental deficits. In practice, this means the elimination of special schools as ‘stigmatizing and discriminatory.’

It also means that the teacher is faced with a class in which the level of ability, knowledge, and skills is extremely diverse. There are both highly capable children and children with intellectual disabilities. Working with such a diverse group, the teacher must adapt the scope of the material and the pace of work to the weaker students. This has a number of negative consequences for the able children and for the children with developmental deficits. It also presents the teacher with a task that he or she cannot perform: supporting all students in their efforts to acquire valuable knowledge.

From September 2025, new subjects will appear in Polish schools. The Coalition for the Safeguarding of the Polish School warns about the new subject ‘Health Education.’ What is its content and what danger does it pose to children? 

This is another point in the Polish school ‘restructuring’ plan. Health Education has replaced Family Life Education, a subject that dealt, among other things, with sexual issues. It was framed in the context of love, marriage, and family. It can be said that it was a pro-family sex education, aimed at helping to prepare for marriage and the formation of a family. Now, sexual issues are dealt with in the context of Health Education. This new subject takes sexual issues out of the context of love, marriage, and family. The aim is to transform the moral convictions of the young generation so that they no longer value the family and Christian values.

What the Polish parents succeeded in achieving was the right to withdraw their children from these classes, which were originally intended to be compulsory. However, the Ministry of National Education had to withdraw this project and, in this school year, it is an optional subject.

What are the consequences of these changes in the field of sexuality? Does the new subject address the question of ‘gender identity’?

The consequence of this change in the context of sexuality in schools is the modification of all the exemplary models that have been presented to students up to now. Health Education takes sexual issues out of the context of marriage and family, and promotes what has been defined in the syllabus of this subject as “LGBTQ+ legal and social issues.”  Instead of the model of marriage between a man and a woman, the model of informal relationships, i.e., also between persons of the same sex, is introduced. Instead of the natural family model—mother, father and children—the model of various family structures, including so-called rainbow families, is introduced. Instead of the acceptance of the biological female or male sex, the gender model is introduced and students should become familiar with the concept of ‘gender identity,’ without distinguishing between correct gender identity (acceptance of one’s own biological sex) and altered gender identity (‘feeling’ of one’s own sex being incompatible with one’s body, i.e., lack of acceptance of one’s own biological sex).

So, the rights of the LGBT community will also be addressed in this course?

Yes, students should become familiar with the claims of the LGBT community, such as the right to marriage between two men, the right to adoption of children by men, or the adaptation of the law to the ‘perception’ of gender, which may not coincide with the biological gender, for example, the recognition of a man’s declaration that he identifies as a woman. Among these claims is also the rejection of all norms in the field of sexuality. It is about anti-family sex education.

Has the Coalition for the Safeguarding of Polish Schools come under attack for its fight against these programs?

Minister Nowacka has publicly described the opponents of this subject as supporters of the pornographic lobby. She also calls opponents of Health Education “crackpots,” i.e., mentally disturbed people. There are many organizations that oppose this subject (some of them are grouped in our coalition), as well as parents who withdraw their children from this subject. This is a lack of respect for all those who have a different opinion than the Minister on Health Education.  

The Church in Poland strongly opposes the government’s education reforms. What changes are there in religion classes?

Catholic Church authorities in Poland oppose attempts to marginalize religion in schools. The Ministry of National Education has illegally reduced the number of hours of religion in school. Until now it was two hours a week, now it is one. Another change is that the religion grade is no longer taken into account for the average, as was previously the case. For now it is a marginalization of religion in school, but there are many indications that, in the long run, it is about its total elimination. The Catholic Church authorities in Poland are also opposed to Health Education, because the model of sex education taught in this subject is anti-family. There was a letter to this effect from the Presidium of the Polish Episcopate, and also a letter from the chairman of the Catholic Education Commission.

The canon of compulsory reading: what will change and why do they want people to read less?

First of all, books important for fostering pride in Polish history, important for building national identity in the younger generation, are being removed from the canon. The number of compulsory readings will also be significantly reduced. On the one hand, this paves the way for the formation of a European identity, but, on the other hand, it contributes to lowering the level of teaching in schools. The less a person knows about the history of his own people, the less rooted he is in national and European culture, the less he understands the world around him and the easier it is to govern him.

Civic Education is another novelty in secondary school, replacing History and Current Events. Are Polish national identity and its Christian values in danger? What will history lessons be like from now on? 

Of course, this education reform is about the elimination of patriotic education, the education that teaches pride in being Polish. This is the direction of the changes in school curricula, especially in Polish language and history, as well as changes in the reading list. The elimination of the subject History and Current Events and its replacement by Civic Education also serves this function. Looking at Minister Nowacka’s actions, one can come to the conclusion that, for her, anything that encourages a patriotic attitude is ‘violence’ and should be eliminated from school. The elimination of Polish identity-forming education paves the way for the formation of European identity at school. This role is played by the European Education Area, which in the long run means, among other things, a single history curriculum in schools in EU countries. 

At present, both Polish society and the Catholic Church in Poland are facing a great challenge. The attack on national identity and Christian values is undoubtedly a great threat. However, if it can be overcome, both the Polish people and their Church can emerge stronger from this confrontation.