T for Tertiary Education Level

Not long ago, I wrote about the elementary school/education level I have gone through in Poland.
Today, more about tertiary education (post-high school/technical school) which I experienced there. By the way, in Poland, high school is not the only option for elementary school graduates. However, I will write about it another time.

In socialist Poland, there were no private schools and education was a state matter only. Studying at state universities was free, but not everybody could be a student. All the high school and technical school graduates who wanted to become university students had to follow certain requirements. First of all, their final secondary school exam results needed to be good. Secondly, candidates applying to a university had to pass a set of written and oral admission tests organized by their chosen institute. Passing those tests was not enough, though. Both the results of the secondary school and admission exams were then added up. Since a limited number of first-year students were admitted to every university, only those with the highest scores succeeded. However, there was one more, big thing taken into consideration as well, and it changed the final results a lot. The candidates/applicants whose parents were laborers were given extra points for their social background. 

The number of points was quite significant and was enough to push others down the admission list. Anyhow, it was quite common that someone passed the university entrance exams, but was not admitted due to the lack of "places". 

The ones who did not want to study for 5 years at a university/needed to start their professional career earlier + the unsuccessful university applicants tried their luck at a two-year studium of their choice (a sort of US college equivalent). The admission exams at those schools were usually organized a bit later, after the university ones. The rules were the same - pass the exams. If I remember correctly, the extra points for social background did not apply at the studium level.

A studium graduate was a qualified professional in their field without a formal degree. That was my education path. Sometime after I started working as a teacher, I decided to continue studying. The pedagogical university I applied to, recognized my studium diploma as an equivalent of a bachelor's degree. Nevertheless, like all other candidates, to be able to pursue a master's degree, I had to pass the admission test first.

The curriculum subjects (see below) at the teachers' studium and pedagogical university were the same (small differences only). However, the previous one provided much more practical training time than the latter.

FYK
You need to know a major difference between the American and Polish programs of university studies.
In Poland, from the first day at a university or polytechnic, you study subjects closely related to your future degree. All the subjects are mandatory, students do not choose anything. That is why, before you apply to a university, you have to decide in what field your dream degree is to be. Not every tertiary school offers courses leading to all degrees.
If it happens that, during your studies, you change your mind, regarding your pursued degree, and for example, instead of a teacher you want to become an accountant/doctor/lawyer/engineer/etc, most often you have to apply to a different tertiary school/university, pass the admission exams and start again.

At my time, all teachers to be, besides degree-related subjects, had to do one-year-long courses in ethics, philosophy, politics, and logic. From the course in politics, I still remember the name "Front Fremlino in Mozambique". I do not know why we had to learn about political parties from around the globe. Very useful indeed, regarding teaching kids. 

 

Besides that, the program of my studies included the theory of upbringing, history of upbringing, didactics, general psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, general pedagogy, early school pedagogy, playing a musical instrument, Russian (the only then available option, regarding a foreign language), and methodology of teaching the chosen school subjects (+ music at the studium level).

Anyway, each course finished with a final exam (rarely a written one/most often it was an oral exam).

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My final university "paper" was a size of a telephone directory. That was an expected size, I did not overdo it. In the case of the studium (teachers' college) I attended, the final book size followed the school standards as well (which was only a third of a telephone book size).

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The graduation ceremony was not a big thing (well, at least then) as it is in the States. No special outfits, no parents or other invited guests. Since graduates are no longer little kids, parents' presence would have been regarded as embarrassing. No graduation parties or presents either. You just took your diploma, which was a kind of hard-cover booklet, showed it at home, and put it in a drawer (there is no custom of displaying it on a wall). 

"You did well? Good for you. Go and look for a job* now." That was all more or less.

These days state universities, academies, and polytechnics still keep similar standards - you need to pass the admission exams, and the socialist-time extra points for the social background are history.
Private colleges and universities most often admit everybody who is willing/able to pay for their studies, no entrance exams are required.

In more modern times, I also did an IT studium (private school), no admission exams there. 

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* In socialism, manual laborers made more money/were paid better than degree holders.

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PS
The studium I attended had no canteen, cafeteria, or vending machine. It was a place of study, not eating. The latter was not forbidden, though. During the breaks between classes, we usually ate sandwiches brought from home.
Perhaps we had to do politics because (as the Internet says) there is a connection between pedagogy and ideologies.

 

More entries of "My Polish Alphabet" here.