Architecture Change in A Post-Bologna World of Higher Education in Poland – Case Study

Abstract

In 2005 Joanna Serdyńska and Jerzy Witeczek published the results of a research work which covered the first 25 years of educating students at the Faculty of Architecture, Silesian University of Technology, Poland. It aimed at measuring the attractiveness and effectiveness of studies at the Faculty, and considering how some figures, i.e. previous entrance examinations, length of studies, male-female ratio and others, have been changing in time. The research turned out to be a kind of summary of the “pre-Bologna” era in architectural education. Form 2006 on, according to Bologna process, some major changes in higher education have been made, which affected organization of studies, content of study curriculum, and ways of teaching and learning. Harmonization of studies across the Europe has left architecture with a two-cycle degree study programmes, systems of credit transfer and quality assurance, and so-called student-centered learning all in the name of better quality and a lower cost. Today, in 2013, it is possible to make first recapitulations and draw some conclusions according to the new educational pattern, and, thanks to the previous research work, one can also compare those two models in terms of educational conditions. The comparison of an old and new study curriculum complements the work. The paper deals with questions about the impact of the transition to the Bologna system on study curriculum content, changes in the ways of teaching and learning, and ways in which it affects the effectiveness of studies and the quality of education.