In this article I make a critical analysis of educational policy in Poland during the 25 years of the political transformation. I try to refer to the Polish thoughts and practices of teaching experience in the period of 1989–2014. What is more, I present experiences of anti-socialist opposition during the socialist period. They influenced on impression in the works and commitments of many scientists and a new generation of academics. Furthermore, I indicate how my generation after 1989 went into the road of scientific autonomy and / or independence in the field of government and private education. Benchmark for these analyzes build up the hopes which we tied up with the Polish revolution of non- violence. Moreover, there was a strong disappointment, which revealed over the years due to the departure of distinctive political formation of the Third Republic of the ideals and the phenomenon of Polish „Solidarity” movement, and civil society, which included the move away from the base of participatory democracy. Finally, I look at how education as a science and practice of education fit into democratization of the Polish state and society. The key meaning for me has the perception of education as a common good, as environments and entities, institutions or management practices which participate in the democratic society. To sum up, this society is constantly in the period of recovery from years of experience not only fascist, but Bolshevik totalitarianism, too.

From the perspective of her own experience as the chairperson for the Central Commission for Degrees and Titles, the author provides a critical description of the state of academic development among academic teaching staff between 2011 and 2016. Alarming phenomena as far as academic promotions are concerned undergo an analysis in the context of social, political and structural changes, as well as institutional mechanisms on the ministerial level and at particular universities, taking into consideration the human factor.

My article is a synthetic recognition of macro-Polish governments’ evolution over 25 years of political transformation. It is presented from the perspective of education for democracy, in a democracy and not about democracy. I explain, how it is possible, that the Poles after they got rid of monistic doctrine of the totalitarian state, are subjected to hidden process of democratization of education and the school system. I analyze public education ,mechanisms and structures for its management in a way that counteracts democratic change. The school is subjected to a mechanism of political gamemakers. It becomes an institution which is painfully ineffective and without its face. This institution devastates traditions and allows intellectual regression. There are threats to educational reforms which lie not only in the sociopolitical mechanisms, but also and perhaps primarily within the education system, which has not created procedures to eliminate Pharisees of innovation from it. Polish educational system after 25 years of transformation is not only partially reprivatized but highly bureaucratic and fully involved in political parties.