Model eksternistyczny jako przykład uczenia się przez całe życie
Extramural general education exams as an example of lifelong learning

Summary/Abstract: For many years the national extramural exams were placed on the margins of the Polish educational system. In 2007 the Central Examination Board was entrust with the assessment of skills of adult applicants who wanted to have their comprehensive knowledge officially confirmed on the primary, lower secondary or upper secondary school level. Since 2012 the applicants have also been able to take the extramural exams in general and practical knowledge on the level of a basic vocational school. This resolution is consistent with the guidelines of the European Parliament from the year 2008 about European Qualification Framework for Lifelong Learning and, accepted in 2012, the OECD strategy: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives.In the Polish educational system, the applicants for extramural exams are adults who do not attend any school but learn by themselves and decide individually when they are ready to take the exams. Every year a few thousand of mostly young people make this decision and sit the exams, most often on the upper secondary school level.The aim of this article is an attempt to create a collective portrait of all these people who left the regular school system, for different reasons, and try to obtain their education.Since 2008 the author of the article has been doing extensive research on this population, not only concentrating on the statistics index but also carrying out a detailed qualitative study.Key words: national extramural exams, lifelong learning, validation of non-formal and informal learning, self-directed learning

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