Między kształceniem egalitarnym a elitarnym – dylematy współczesności
Egalitarian versus elitist education system – present day dilemmas

Summary/Abstract: Education of the elite is an important social problem; elites have been a part of every society since the primitive cultures until contemporary modern democracy of the present day. Their place and functions have been changing throughout the ages. What is needed today is a new approach to the education of the elites within the democratic system in the context of global: political, social and economic changes which require new didactic and educational methods. In the course of the recent decades education was modified thanks to the introduction of the egalitarian system which gave access to learning also to those who, for different reasons, were denied its benefits. In Poland that was also the time of the decline of the intellectual elite destroyed first by the German occupation and then by the communist regime. The changes occurring in Central and Eastern Europe as well as some of the consequences of a concurrent process of globalization brought to light a diminishing position of the intelligentia in the social hierarchy. The system of education is a coherent entity including an intellectual, moral and social development. In order to educate elites it is necessary to have a pioneering group of educators, lawyers, doctors, academics and cultural specialists, that is, educators in the broadest sense of the word. Elitist education means education with a view to being able to accept responsibility for oneself, for the country, for family and for the common good. What is taking shape now is the awareness of the need for a re-birth of this kind of education, because learning without morality can be dangerous. The two forms, egalitarian and elitist, are not in opposition, they merely open different perspectives for young people. The optimum system of education should indicate the direction from the egalitarian to the elitist

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