On September 1, 2025, a new subject will appear in Polish secondary schools. Civic Education will replace History and the Present and is intended to teach young people conscious and responsible civic engagement. What distinguishes the new subject is its practical approach. In addition to attending lessons, students will also take part in civic activities and implement educational research or social projects.
The subject will be introduced in the 2025/2026 school year under the ordinance of the Minister of Education dated March 6, 2025. It will be taught not only in general secondary schools and technical schools but also in institutions such as adult education high schools and vocational schools. The curriculum framework was developed by a team of experts and practitioners led by Jędrzej Witkowski, president of the Center for Civic Education (CEO).
“Civic education is meant to prepare young people for conscious and responsible civic engagement. To participate as informed citizens, they need, first of all, knowledge that allows them to understand the social world around them. They also need skills that enable them to act in that world, and the experience of civic agency – the conviction that it is worth taking responsibility into their own hands,” said Witkowski in an interview with Newseria.
The key feature of civic education will be its practical approach. Alongside acquiring knowledge and skills described in the curriculum requirements, civic activities will form the second, equally important pillar of the subject.
“This means, for example, organizing commemorative events, writing petitions on issues important to us, conducting surveys, sharing opinions in school or local media on relevant topics, or running for student council representative. The point is for young people to experience active participation in civic life. And we want this experience to be accessible not only to the most active leaders but to every student, because you cannot speak of agency without experiencing it,” Witkowski explained.
Among the methods designed to engage students will be educational projects of a research or social nature. One group project linked to the subject’s themes will be recommended. It should have a defined goal, schedule, action plan with task distribution, and culminate in a presentation of results.
“These could be social projects addressing problems in the class, the school, or perhaps the local community, neighborhood, or village,” Witkowski added.
Civic education will be taught two hours per week in the second grade and one hour in the third grade of general secondary school. In technical schools, it will be one hour weekly from the second to the fourth grade, and in adult high schools conducted in stationary form, one hour per week in the second and third grades.
“As the authors of the curriculum, we would have preferred more hours. But we structured it in a way that allows time for practical elements. That’s why we reduced the number of detailed requirements by more than half. These competencies would certainly be developed more fully with more time, but even within the current framework, valuable learning processes can be carried out, including learning through practice and action,” said the CEO president.
Like other subjects, civic education will be graded at the end of each semester and school year on a 1–6 scale.
“Other assessment methods remain at the discretion of schools and their internal systems. We encourage, though it is only a soft recommendation, that practical aspects such as civic activities and projects be considered. Of course, the best form of assessment is formative evaluation – feedback, checklists, peer feedback, self-assessment. This, however, is up to the teacher. In the teaching guide we prepared for the ministry, we suggest different tools, including an educational or civic portfolio, which could make assessment easier for teachers,” Witkowski noted.
Teachers’ opinions about the new curriculum remain divided.
“We receive two types of feedback. The first comes from teachers who are pleased, saying they already carried out similar activities and are happy they are entering mainstream education instead of being additional after-hours tasks. The second comes from teachers skeptical about the practical aspects, worried that civic projects will create a lot of extra work. At the Center for Civic Education, we are working on materials and support tools to make it easier for teachers to guide students in these activities without it being overly burdensome,” Witkowski explained.
Similar feedback has come from municipalities and institutions that will be involved from the other side of civic education.
“Among the 2,500 municipalities, some are not open, but others are very open. This remains a challenge. We will be learning how to run this subject wisely. We also need to work on explaining to social organizations and initiatives such as volunteer fire departments, the Red Cross, hiking clubs, local cultural centers, or municipal offices that when students approach them as part of this subject, they should be treated as citizens. We must remember that young people, even before turning 18, though they cannot yet vote, are citizens and should be respected and treated with dignity by public institutions,” the CEO president emphasized.
“There is much work ahead, but at some point, we have to begin. And this is that moment.”
