Executive Summary

The following report is the product of nearly two years of extensive research and consultation carried out by a team of children and youth experts in Poland. It is the first report of its kind to thoroughly document the situation of Polish children and youth, painting a picture of the issues and trends influencing their development.

It is our hope that the report will be useful to funding organizations, nongovernmental organizations, academicians, researchers, policy makers, the media, and others seeking to better understand the complexity of youth needs and opportunities in today's Poland. Poland has a high proportion of children and youth, making it a demographically young country. For this reason, it is all the more important to safeguard their development and thereby the country's future.

Two national surveys of children and youth were conducted in December 1992 especially for this report. Both were commissioned by the Polish Children and Youth Foundation (PCYF) and carried out by the Public Opinion Research Center (Centrum Badania Opinii Spo ecznej), a polling service. Other data sources are specified in each chapter. In general, data comparisons are made within the time period 1988-1992.

During that period, Polish children and youth were exposed to great social and economic upheavals. Politically, the communist government fell in a peaceful revolution, and democratically elected officials began the arduous task of changing the country over to a free-market economy and Western-styled democracy. During this transition period, great economic stresses resulted from the transition from a centrally planned economy dependent upon a bloc of Eastern socialist countries to a more capitalistic-based, marketplace orientation with strong ties to Western Europe and the United States. Families were greatly affected by job layoffs as factories and industries were reorganized, downsized and privatized.

Currently, forty percent of Polish families live below the poverty level. A growing number of young Poles are pessimistic about their chances of a better life. The youngest surveyed were not aware of signs of economic crisis in their families, but the older ones became concerned over financial circumstances and just as pessimistic as adults about prospects for improvement. Deep concern and pessimism are widespread among Polish youth regarding their futures&##151;only forty percent believe that they will have a better life than their parents. Other areas of particular concern highlighted in the report include:

Education&##151;At the elementary school level, conditions are generally overcrowded and more schools should be built. All schools follow the same national curriculum and use the same textbooks. While the number of youth pursuing secondary diplomas has grown (as has the number of those entering college), there are negative factors, including a high student-teacher ratio and authoritarian teaching methods. Current educational methods are believed to contribute to passivity and apathy among Polish youth.

Health&##151;One-third of all schoolchildren should be provided with regular medical care because of ill health. Five hundred thousand are chronically ill or disabled; 70 percent of these are mentally disabled. Some 550,000 children and youth are hospitalized each year. Seventeen percent of hospital patients in the 5-19 age group are victims of road accidents. An equal number are hospitalized for respiratory problems resulting from environmental pollution. One in three poles under the age of 19 lives in an environmentally degraded area.

Community life&##151;The involvement of young Poles in community life is hampered by two factors: a lack of proper role models and a lack of self-reliance. Polish parents do not encourage their children to be responsible for themselves, and young people's start in life takes place late by Western standards. Young people are discouraged from becoming involved, and do not believe that they can shape the reality around them. On the positive side, young people adapt faster to change than adults. They are becoming more aware of team approaches to problem-solving and more are joining a variety of organizations.

Values and Beliefs&##151;Only a small percentage of those youth surveyed placed particular value on independence at work, creativity and the possibility of making important decisions in the world of business and politics. Since the 1980's, there has been a tendency among young people to concentrate on family and social life and to shun involvements outside the family and a small circle of friends.

Career Prospects&##151;Widespread unemployment has affected the young generation of Poles, who fear that they will be unable to get jobs. Retraining and job development programs, which are basic forms of alleviating unemployment, are almost non-existent in Poland, or are available to only a few.

In light of the pressing needs of Polish children and youth, the Polish Children and Youth Foundation was established to identify and support programs that have demonstrated their effectiveness in meeting young people's needs. PCYF is working to strengthen the nongovernmental sector serving children and youth in Poland through providing networking and leadership training opportunities. PCYF is also working to increase philanthropy among local and international donors while positively influencing policies and practices beneficial to Polish children and youth.

We hope that you will find the information contained in this report useful and will join with us in efforts to promote the positive development of Poland's young people at this critical juncture in the country's history.

Maria Holzer
Executive Director President and Chief Executive Officer
Polish Children and Youth Foundation

Rick R. Little
International Youth Foundation