Emotions and Relationships in Polish Citizenship Education: Mapping Opportunities and Change Through an Analysis of Secondary School Core Curricula

Abstract

Is there room in school-based citizenship education to shape citizenship identity as an emotional and relational experience of community membership? Given the importance of school core curricula in many European countries, this paper analyses the core curricula in Poland to identify the provisions that facilitate the recognition of the concept of lived citizenship. The data comprise two core curricula (from 2018 and 2025) for citizenship education in Polish secondary schools, which were created in different political conditions. The aim is to identify, at the curriculum level, potential opportunities to include the affective dimension and to recognise the changes in this area resulting from the curriculum reform. The results demonstrate that both curricula reveal such potential. However, the 2025 reform offers a significantly better representation of categories that appear vital to grasping the affective dimension of citizenship.