Polska mniejszość narodowa na Zaolziu w ciągłości i zmianie społecznej - perspektywa wielokulturowa i edukacyjna

Abstract

What has been applied in the characterization of the Polish national minority inhabiting the Polish-Czech borderland in Cieszyn Silesia and in the description and explanation of various signs of this minority’s activity are elements of Tadeusz Lewowicki’s theory of identity behaviours. They are introduced in the distinguished fields to specify some selected basic determinants: (a) historical (presenting history of the minority, its identification with the territory and social group, as well as its nationality structure); (b) socio-cultural (marking the separateness of culture, language, and religion in the borderland, as well as its school education and institutions or organizations supporting culture); (c) cultural-personal (constituting the images of “dissimilarity”, the group’s specific features, and the description of functioning stereotypes); and (d) industrial-economic (which describe living standards of minority and majority groups in the borderland, their civilization rank, technical and technological condition, and life plans).