Exploring the governance of Polish public higher education : balancing restored historical legacies with Europeanization and market pressures

Abstract

This article places developments in Polish public higher education (HE) in the broader context of the literature on HE governance and, in particular, marketization. The Polish case stands out due to the parallel existence of prestigious large universities with long histories of scientific advancement and the largest number of private HE institutions in Europe. Since 1989 Poland has undergone a process of extreme massification, with student numbers having exponentially multiplied. The analysis aims to offer theoretical explanations based on historical institutionalism and organizational isomorphism for the differential development of Polish public and private HE. The author argues that Polish public HE has been characterized by fragmentary state-driven attempts to inject more competition into the system and altogether relative policy inertia – despite an internal and external environment which is highly conducive to policy change and in particular marketization. The author presents a series of empirical indicators to assess the degree of marketization and/or attachment to the historical governance model, which was reinstated in 1990.