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Description
Disregard for freedom of conscience, openness to religious indoctrination, a poor knowledge of the law on the part of some headteachers and teachers, and a low level of organizational culture in schools, but equally political pressure for the education model in Poland to take a national and catholic course, are the problems faced by many non-religious people in public schools. The project will entail monitoring of advice and support, including legal aid for people whose freedom of conscience is breached and who are subjected to indoctrination and compelled to perform religious practices in schools, and measures to combat exclusion, including access to ethics classes. Under the project, new tools will be produced to provide support for recipients and improve their civic ability: a comprehensive Handbook on Effective Action in Kindergarten or a State School, which will be broadly promoted and distributed (a separate handbook will be produced for young people) a School Inequality Map for reporting breaches - collecting and making public data regarding abuse, and a forum to be used for communicating and networking for people who defend their rights. Materials posted on the portal rownoscwszkole.pl will be updated to reflect legislative and social and political developments. A campaign will be conducted to encourage use of the tools described above and provide more information about rights of pupils and parents and how those rights can be defended, using infographics and social media. The project will help to increase the civic activity of members of minorities and place public pressure on local government and schools to defend the rights of minorities.
Summary of project results
The project responds to the problem of religious indoctrination and disregard for the right to freedom of conscience in educational institutions in Poland. Among the practices commonly used by schools one should mention, going to church and cancelling lessons for this reason, religious themes during celebrations, religious symbols in the school space, giving schools a patron - a religious figure, not offering ethics lessons as an alternative to catechism or including catechism in the middle of day timetable. The rights of both non-religious and non-Catholics are being violated. The political situation affects further unfavourable changes, for example the "evangelisation" activities of the Krakow school superintendent or Minister Czarnek''s insistence on a more national-Catholic model in education.
The project monitored public institutions and violations of the right to freedom of conscience and provided counselling to people experiencing violations of freedom of conscience and coercive religious practices in schools. A map of inequality at school was created - a tool for reporting violations and collecting data on abuse. The project promoter was also involved in building and promoting local ''Secular School'' online groups. A comprehensive ''Guide to Effective Public School Intervention'' and an innovative youth guide ''Freedom of Conscience for Minors'' were produced. Materials posted on the rownoscwszkole.pl portal were updated to take into account legal and socio-political changes. The project promoter also carried out an information campaign encouraging the use of available tools and informing more broadly about the rights of pupils and parents and how to defend them.
The project has contributed to strengthening the activism of non-denominational or non-Catholic believers and to civic pressure on local authorities and schools to protect the rights of minorities. The project promoter observed, for example, an increased use of the public information request promoted in the guidance as a form of pressure accompanying intervention in schools. In total, as many as 828 pieces of advice were given and 83 intervention letters were sent to schools and kindergartens. The initiative reached beyond the large urban centres, as local media from smaller towns and cities, from which schools were included on the map, took an interest. The Irregularities Map continues to collect a significant amount of data and use it to mark bad practice and support parents and children.