The subject of this article is combating adult illiteracy in the People’s Republic of Poland. The existing knowledge concerning the topic has been supplemented with the analysis of the archival documents, currently being in possession of the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw. It describes how illiterates were recognised in the society, in what way they were encouraged to train new skills and how attending the courses was made possible for them. The analysed documents include censors’ reviews of manuals, press articles, letters wrote by former illiterates and other valuable records. The communists were combating illiteracy not only in the name of the social progress, but mostly motivated by their quest to broaden the possibilities of ideological indoctrination – during the courses organised for illiterates and later on. This is why the selection of manuals and other publications addressed to former illiterates was propagandist. The strategic importance of the matter was expressed by Vladimir Lenin himself: “Socialism cannot be built by illiterates” (W. Ozga, Education in the six-year-plan and the revolutionary changes of the society and economics in the People’s Republic of Poland, Warsaw 1951, p. 124).
The subject of this article is combating adult illiteracy in the People’s Republic of Poland. The existing knowledge concerning the topic has been supplemented with the analysis of the archival documents, currently being in possession of the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw. It describes how illiterates were recognised in the society, in what way they were encouraged to train new skills and how attending the courses was made possible for them. The analysed documents include censors’ reviews of manuals, press articles, letters wrote by former illiterates and other valuable records. The communists were combating illiteracy not only in the name of the social progress, but mostly motivated by their quest to broaden the possibilities of ideological indoctrination – during the courses organised for illiterates and later on. This is why the selection of manuals and other publications addressed to former illiterates was propagandist. The strategic importance of the matter was expressed by Vladimir Lenin himself: “Socialism cannot be built by illiterates” (W. Ozga, Education in the six-year-plan and the revolutionary changes of the society and economics in the People’s Republic of Poland, Warsaw 1951, p. 124).
In an era of accelerating development of artificial intelligence and intensifying negative effects of the media on children and adolescents, media literacy education tailored to the new challenges is becoming increasingly important. This article aims to answer the question of how state institutions in Poland carry out the task of media education, particularly aimed at children and adolescents. The goal will be achieved by analyzing the educational policy of state institutions – that is, the minister responsible for education in Poland and the National Broadcasting Council. The authors will also briefly refer to the activities of non-governmental organizations involved in media literacy. The issues discussed in the article were developed based on the analysis of documents, legal acts and literature on the subject. First, the role of the Ministry in charge of education issues is outlined (depending on the historical period, it had different names and responsibilities) and the conclusions of the analysis of legal documents regulating media education of students and teachers are presented. Next, the role of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) in media education was outlined. In the next step, the NGOs’ activities and selected media education projects were discussed. Finally, the conclusions of the collected analysis and the revised purpose of the article were summarized.
PL
W dobie przyspieszenia rozwoju sztucznej inteligencji i nasilających się negatywnych efektów oddziaływania mediów na dzieci i młodzież, coraz ważniejsza staje się dopasowana do nowych wyzwań edukacja medialna. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest odpowiedź na pytanie, jak instytucje państwowe w Polsce realizują zadanie edukacji medialnej, zwłaszcza skierowanej do dzieci i młodzieży. Cel zostanie zrealizowany poprzez analizę polityki oświatowej instytucji państwowych – to znaczy ministra odpowiedzialnego za kwestie oświaty w Polsce oraz Krajowej Rady Radiofonii i Telewizji. Autorzy odniosą się również skrótowo do działań organizacji pozarządowych zaangażowanych w edukację medialną. Omawiane w artykule zagadnienia opracowane zostały w oparciu o analizę dokumentów, aktów prawnych oraz literaturę przedmiotu. W pierwszej kolejności nakreślono rolę Ministerstwa odpowiedzialnego za kwestie edukacji (w zależności od okresu historycznego, miało ono różne nazwy i zakres kompetencji) i przedstawiono wnioski z analiz dokumentów prawnych regulujących edukację medialną uczniów i nauczycieli. Następnie zarysowano rolę Krajowej Rady Radiofonii i Telewizji (KRRiT) w edukacji medialnej. W kolejnym kroku omówiono działania organizacji pozarządowych i wybrane projekty dotyczące edukacji medialnej. Na koniec zostały podsumowane wnioski ze zgromadzonych analiz i zweryfikowany cel artykułu.
The paper examines the guidelines dedicated to Italian teaching and, above all, to the ideal thematic, language and stylistic features of school reading books in the programmes for primary school and in the related instructions for teachers issued by the Ministry of Education from 1860 to 1905: a decisive period for the arrangement of the Italian school system, the literacy processes and the spread of the national language. It can be seen how these official documents significantly shaped the writing of school books. The paper also explores the complex relationship between the institutional attempts to regulate textbook production, as evidenced by relevant ministerial documentation parallel to the programmes, and the rich publishing activity in this field. To complete the overview of the dialectic between school-educational publishing and the regulatory will of the Ministry and of the boards connected to it, responsible for the evaluation of textbooks, the witnesses of two prominent school female authors of the 2nd half of the 19th century are commented on: Ida Baccini and Felicita Morandi.
IT
Il contributo presenta le linee-guida dedicate alla didattica dell’italiano e soprattutto alle caratteristiche tematiche, linguistiche e stilistiche ideali dei libri di lettura scolastici nei programmi per la scuola elementare e nelle connesse istruzioni per i maestri emanati dal Ministero dell’Istruzione dal 1860 al 1905: un periodo determinante per l’assestamento del sistema scolastico italiano, i processi di alfabetizzazione e la popolarizzazione della lingua nazionale. Si nota come queste disposizioni condizionarono decisamente la stesura dei libri per la scuola e si fa luce sul complesso rapporto tra i tentativi istituzionali di regolamentazione della produzione libraria, dei quali è prova anche una documentazione ministeriale affine e parallela ai programmi, e il fervore editoriale nel settore in questione. Per completare il quadro della dialettica tra l’editoria scolastico-educativa e la volontà regolatrice del Ministero e delle commissioni, a esso collegate, preposte alla valutazione dei libri di testo, si commentano le testimonianze di due illustri autrici per la scuola del secondo Ottocento: Ida Baccini e Felicita Morandi.
Podręczniki szkolne od wielu lat budzą liczne kontrowersje, jednak to co dzieje się wokół nich od początku 2014 roku można chyba nazwać prawdziwą burzą czy nawet rewolucją. W czasie gdy naukowcy, badacze pedagogiki wczesnoszkolnej podejmują dyskusję nad kulturowym i społecznym kodem podręczników dla dzieci (jako zawsze problematycznych i dyskusyjnych nośników znaczeń i wartości), Ministerstwo Edukacji Narodowej wprowadza jeden, obligatoryjny dla wszystkich i pozornie bezpłatny podręcznik dla klasy I. Jest on tworzony na bazie nieokreślonych założeń koncepcyjnych i w rekordowo krótkim czasie. Następnie na wniosek MEN podręcznik ten poddany zostaje ogólnonarodowemu poprawianiu zawartych w nim błędów, a potem z tryumfem złożony do druku. Jak jednym słowem określić przywołane działania? Dla mnie jest to manipulacja. W artykule podjęta została próba uzasadnienia dwóch zasadniczych tez: podręcznik szkolny stał się obiektem manipulacji (politycznej i medialnej); podręcznik szkolny był i jest narzędziem manipulacji wychowawczej i dydaktycznej). Sam termin manipulacja, mający wiele znaczeń, używany jest w niniejszym opracowaniu w odniesieniu do sytuacji kierowania kimś bez jego wiedzy i posługiwania się nim w celu osiągnięcia określonych, własnych celów. Osobami, którym chciano zwrócić uwagę na możliwość nieświadomego ulegania różnym działaniom o charakterze manipulacyjnym są nauczyciele i rodzice uczniów. Szansy na obronę przed takimi, jak opisane w artykule, manipulacjami upatruje się w naukowych eksploracjach problematyki użyteczności obudowy dydaktycznej w edukacji dzieci.
EN
For many years, textbooks have been a source of much controversy, but what has been unfolding in this area since the beginning of 2014 can quite fairly be described as a proper storm, or even a revolution. While scientists and pedagogical researchers have continued their discussions about the cultural and social norms relevant to children’s books (where these in turn are bound to prompt problematic discussions about meaning and value), the Ministry of Education has simply gone ahead and introduced a single textbook for children from Class I, which is apparently free, but obligatory for all of them. This has been created on the basis of vague and undefined conceptual assumptions, and in record time. Then, at the request of the Ministry, this same textbook has been subjected to a nationwide process of correction of the errors it contained, before being finally sent for printing – and this as if it marked a great triumph. How might one sum this up in a single word? For me, it is manipulation. This article aims to justify the following two main theses: that the above-mentioned textbook has become an object of manipulation (for both politicians and the media), and that it was, and is, a tool of manipulation (in the context of education and teaching). The term “manipulation”, of course, has many meanings. It is used in this article to refer to what goes on when someone is unknowingly targeting and exploited for specific purposes. We, and especially teachers and the parents of pupils, need to become aware of the possibility of being victims of this. On the other hand, scientific research into the usefulness of teaching materials in the education of children offers a chance for us to defend ourselves against such manipulation.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.