High School Final Exam Blackmail as a Quiet Everyday Reality of Recent Secondary School Years: Transmission of an Oppressive Culture vs. Student Freedom of Choice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/SPI.2025.3.009Keywords
secondary school, high school final exam, school culture, culture of (o)ppression, high school final exam experiences, high school final exam blackmailAbstract
The purpose of the analyses conducted within this article was to identify the high school final exam experiences of high school graduates (current students of pedagogy) in the context of their assessment of teachers’ activities in the high school final year. Such assumptions were intended to check whether the students taking part in the survey felt any form of pressure to pass their final high school exams. We set the whole study in the context of school as a transmitting and culture‐creating institution. We decided to conduct a pilot study among first‐year students of pedagogical programs at several Polish universities. We hoped that the results would contribute to educational reflection on the pressures of final high school exams. Our aim was to identify the high school final exam experience in the short term. The data was collected using an online survey completed by 239 students of pedagogical studies at several Polish universities. The results obtained made it possible to identify the phenomenon of high school final exam blackmail, the highest form of pressure, which appeared to be the most frequently applied to students who experienced forms of high school final exam pressure.
In addition, the graduates highlighted the high orientation and pressure of the school on the high school final exam, with a lack of emotional support or related to effective learning techniques. The research was a pilot study and is a prelude to further inquiry into the high school final exam experience. School peri‐examintion sentiments, exam pressure and high school final exam blackmail become part of the (o)pressure culture of the school.
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