Poland Liceum ogólnokształcące, klasa III Civics (extended level)
Chapters: 5
1. Civil society
Civil society and its organisations
- Civic Engagement: How Citizens Take Part – Civic engagement means taking part in the life of your community and country. It is like a ladder: stay informed, vote, join groups, volunteer, then organise and campaign. Citizens vote in elections to choose representatives and in referendums to answer one question directly. They join political parties (which aim to govern), trade unions (which defend workers) and associations or NGOs (which work for a shared cause). Between elections they sign petitions, volunteer, mediate local conflicts and campaign online, checking facts first. Whistleblowers reveal hidden wrongdoing, and a free press and public opinion turn it into action. Organising a community event shows all these skills: planning, teamwork and responsibility.
2. Migration and demography in Poland and the world
Migration · Demography
- Migration – Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live there, for some time or for good. The place left is the origin; the place reached is the destination. People move because of push factors (problems at home) and pull factors (attractions elsewhere), but obstacles like cost, distance and laws stop some. Migration can be internal or international, temporary or permanent, voluntary or forced, and it changes both the origin and the destination.
- Demographic Change: Births, Deaths, Migration and Ageing – Demography is the study of population. A population changes through births, deaths and migration: change = (births − deaths) + (immigrants − emigrants). Rates are given per 1,000 people per year. Most countries pass through a demographic transition: first death rates fall, then birth rates fall, so growth is fast in the middle and slows at the end. A population pyramid shows the age and sex structure: a wide base means a young population, a narrow base and wide top mean an ageing one. Ageing comes from fewer births and longer lives. It raises the old-age dependency ratio and makes care of older people a shared task for families, communities, employers and the state (pensions, health care, accessible cities). Migration, driven by push and pull factors, moves mostly young people and reshapes the age structure of both places.
3. Politics and political culture
Political thought · Totalitarianism, fascism, populism · Democracy and political culture in Poland
- Totalitarianism – A totalitarian regime is a one-party state that tries to control every part of life — politics, the economy, the media, schools and even people's thoughts — using one leader, propaganda and terror. After the First World War and the 1929 depression, such regimes arose in Fascist Italy (1922), Stalin's Soviet Union (late 1920s) and Nazi Germany (1933). Their aims and ideas differed, but their methods were alike, and their rise helped lead to the Second World War.
- Democracy – Democracy is rule by the people. People choose their rulers in free and fair elections, each adult has one vote of equal value, and the government must follow the law and respect rights. Democracy can be direct or representative. India has old democratic roots and today uses a parliamentary system, while the USA uses a presidential system. Poverty, illiteracy, corruption and inequality are its main challenges.
- Outcomes of Democracy – Democracy is judged by what it delivers. It gives an accountable, responsive and legitimate government, and it is best at protecting dignity and freedom. On economic growth it is about as good as dictatorship. It has not done enough to cut inequality and poverty. It handles social differences well when majority and minority keep changing.
4. Social communication
Media, propaganda and free speech
- Media Literacy – Media literacy is the skill of reading, questioning and creating media: news, ads, videos, posts, films and games. Every media text is made by someone, for a purpose, for an audience, using forms, conventions and techniques that shape how we feel. A media-literate person checks the source, evidence, other coverage and the original before believing or sharing, notices bias and filter bubbles, and makes their own media responsibly.
5. Law
Legal systems and human rights
- Sources of Law: Where Our Rules Come From – A source of law is where a legal rule comes from and gets its force. The main sources today are legislation (Acts made by parliament after a bill passes through set stages), delegated or secondary legislation (regulations and by-laws made under the power of a parent Act), and judicial precedent (earlier decisions of higher courts that bind lower courts). Other sources are custom, religious norms (in some areas and countries), normative contracts such as collective agreements, international treaties and, as a guide, legal writings. Judges use rules of statutory interpretation to apply Acts. Civil-law countries rely mostly on written codes; common-law countries, like India and the UK, give precedent a big role.