Small Town as an Area of Accumulating Educational Potential. A Study Based on the Example of Świecie, a Town of 26,000 People

Abstract

The study is dedicated to exploring the educational and cultural picture of a small town. The town is seen as an area for accumulating social and educational experiences. Świecie, a town of 26,000 people, is situated in kujawsko-pomorskie voivodship, and serves as the example to present certain educational phenomenon. The research examines the educational plans of teenage people from Grudziądz and nearby areas, which resulted in several surprising conclusions. The most important one was that Świecie is ahead of the rest of the towns included the research in almost every domain. Students from here have the highest level of so called symbolic potential, which is the essence of other capitals (economic, social and cultural one). Teenage people from Świecie are also characterised with the highest cultural capital, which was estimated with such indicators as the number of books, diplomas, certificates; school achievements and their command of foreign languages. What was also interesting was that teenagers from Świecie declare a readiness to go to university more often than do those from other towns. Some of those who want to acquire further education take into account such factors as university prestige or the wide range of fields of studies. Others admit that for them of more significance is friends’ opinion or the fact that the university is near their hometown. The most popular discipline is medicine, which is chosen by teenagers from Świecie more often than in other towns. These study disciplines are believed to be difficult, ambitious and hard to get into. Teenagers from Świecie also declared their wish to study full time and complete an M.A. thesis, which is another phenomenon when compared to young people in other towns in the area.