The Educational Reform of 1932 in Polish Historiography: Interpretative Approaches and Scholarly Debates

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the interpretations of the 1932 Jędrzejewicz reform in Polish historiography. The aim of the study is to identify the main approaches to understanding the content, objectives, and consequences of the educational reform in the context of the socio-political development of the Second Polish Republic. The methodological framework is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and interdisciplinarity, which make it possible to combine institutional, social, and ideological dimensions of analysis.

The paper systematizes scholarly approaches presented in the works of Polish researchers and outlines the key directions of historiographical debate. It is demonstrated that the reform is interpreted as a complex and controversial process of modernization of the educational system, aimed at its unification and centralization, while simultaneously associated with the intensification of social selection and the restriction of access to full secondary education for the rural population. Particular attention is paid to the concept of “state education,” which defined the ideological content of schooling and was aimed at shaping a “citizen of the state” loyal to the political regime.

The study examines the issue of state control over educational institutions, including the role of inspectorates and the unification of private schooling, as well as the limitation of higher education autonomy as an element of broader centralization policies. The impact of the reform on national minorities is analyzed, where it is interpreted as an instrument of assimilation and a source of interethnic conflict. The article also highlights the social reception of the reform through the lens of press discourse, revealing it as an object of political polemics and a tool of propaganda.

It is concluded that in Polish historiography, the reform of 1932 appears as a multidimensional phenomenon that combined modernization tendencies with ideological and political objectives of the state. At the same time, the need for further research aimed at integrating various analytical approaches and deepening the study of regional and socio-cultural aspects of the functioning of the educational system is emphasized.