Effect of Turning - a Case of Polish Educational System

The aim of the article is to present the transformations which occurred in the recent decades in the Polish education system. Education boom and “massification” of university education with little demand for specialists in economy have led to the inflation of diplomas in the recent years. Analyses showed that the return rate on university education decreased, unemployment of university graduates grew and the impact of education on professional position diminished. The weakened impact of a diploma on the professional status is visible among graduates with lower status of less prestigious schools. The result of the deteriorating situation of youth on the labour market are lower education aspirations among students of the final years of secondary schools. Negative effects of massification of education are particularly visible in youths with low status, who in the face of re-education of the society, withdraw from attempts to achieve a university diploma. The main problem resulting from unintended education changes is the increase in social inequalities