THE ROLE OF NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEMS: A POLISH PERSPECTIVE

Non-public education can be viewed as one way of decentralizing the provision of education. The present study explores the ways in which non-public education is understood along with the scope of that education in countries belonging to the OECD. It focuses for the most part on the situation in Poland. The role of non-public kindergartens and schools in national education systems is assessed with reference to both the percentage of students in non-public educational institutions and the share of funding for education that comes from public and private sources. This assessment provides a context for discussing the issue of the independent status of non-public education in the education market, as well as the type of obligations borne by the state. The study also includes a brief history of Polish non-public education during the transitional period of the 1990s.