International Baccalaureate schools as islands of educational resistance. A case study of Poland

Abstract

This study discusses International Baccalaureate schools in Poland from the perspective of their educational function to serve as a resistance to counterbalance trends toward nationalisation in the Polish educational landscape. To address this aim, a review of the relevant legislation has been carried out, accompanied by interviews with teachers and students from 9 IB schools in Poland. Results show that during the 30-year history of IB in Poland, international schools seem to have become places where international education is not opposed to its national education programme, however, they do demonstrate their potential to break away from intra-national education in this country. IB programmes have come to represent a counter-revolutionary force that supports grassroots initiatives in schools. International schools potentially remain safe from any authoritarian interference from the government and become ‘islands of educational resistance’ against intra-national tendencies in education.