International education is a special type of formal education whose main aspects are:
– international and foreign curricula – basing the school’s curriculum offer on curricula created by foreign educational institutions, which are aimed at developing skills needed in an international environment and shaping critical thinking skills in the context of global challenges,
– multicultural environment – through everyday functioning and cooperation of students, parents and staff from different, often distant parts of the world, cultures and traditions, international education promotes building respect, tolerance and openness to other ways of thinking, solutions and lifestyles in understanding and respecting one’s own culture and tradition,
– language education – language immersion at the level of everyday communication and in the educational dimension has a significant impact on the ability to communicate, search for and obtain information and cooperate in many languages. This is of great importance for human functioning in the modern world in the private, social and professional spheres
In Poland, the shape of international education is determined by the provisions of educational law, specifically Art. 21 and subsequent Education Law Acts, which specify the possibility and conditions for the establishment and operation of international branches based on the curriculum of a foreign educational institution based on the decision of the minister responsible for education.
This therefore means that students study according to an established foreign curriculum entirely in a foreign language. The exception are Polish citizens who also study the following subjects: Polish language, elements of history and geography
Polish in Polish in accordance with the core curriculum of general education for a given type of school.
There is no definition of an international school in Polish educational regulations, there is only the concept of a school with international branches in which international education is provided, i.e. based on foreign programs and assumptions common to international schools around the world. There is also no definition of an international kindergarten or even an international kindergarten section, which would allow the implementation of the assumptions of international education adapted to the youngest group.
In the light of Poland’s growing attractiveness for investors, corporations and companies, the development of the educational offer and support for the education sector in the widest possible scope, including international education, is crucial for further stable and long-term development.