Introduction

The vast majority of students in the contemporary educational system in Poland attend public institutions, funded and overseen by either the central or local government. Recently, however, an increasing share of the school market is slipping out of the hands of public administration bodies and into the purview of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Within research examining the effects of the increasing role of external agencies involved in the provision of education across the world, we see instances where they are brought in to tackle the perceived failure of public services (Tooley, 2004) or sought out for their innovative approaches to education (Gauri, 1998; Lubienski, 2003). Yet the benefits of an education sector which allows for new forms of involvement around the provision of education are not always evident. Some experts have argued that they contribute to increasing inequalities (Gonzalez, 2017) or that they do not necessarily improve educational standards, because the contexts that usually allow for greater external agency involvement – a competitive market place – are not necessarily synonymous with quality and equality of provision (Lubienski & Lubienski, 2014; Lubienski & Perry 2019).

For decades, the Polish education system was entirely run by the state: centralised, underfunded, and aiming to provide equitable access and outcomes. The collapse of communist rule in 1989 led to a new era in Polish education, and the emergence of independent schooling became one of the symbols of the new order. Three major groups of external actors became active providers of education in the early 1990s: the Catholic Church, progressive educators, and private, profit-oriented individuals or companies. Dynamic involvement of external agents in Polish education provide a unique opportunity to study these emerging educational powers in the context of the political and economic transformation which has taken place in Eastern Europe over the last 30 years. This chapter offers an overview of the contribution of external actors to Poland's education system, with focus on the motivations behind the emergence of particular institutional forms, their place in the regulatory framework, and their role in respective local educational markets.