Formy kształcenia elitarnego na poziomie wyższym w Polsce

The article presents the problem of elite form of higher education in Poland, namely: realized most often in the cooperation with foreign universities and schools of public administration. They serve different functions to the society and set themselves tasks which are not realized by other educational institutions. The main purpose of the paper is to answer the question if and to what extent the distinguished forms of education educate elite members to be, who will affect the most important social, cultural and political processes in Poland. It is an important question as the social transformations, including the university transformations which take place under the influence of such processes as commodification of education or commercialization, are significant for self-identification of both experts (teachers, researchers, masters) and students. The choice of the subject was primarily due to neglecting the issue of elitism in the contemporary pedagogical and sociological discourse in Poland or its one-dimension interpretation. The paper aims at highlighting the multiplicity of possible elite forms of higher education, focusing mainly on doctoral studies. However, in a wider perspective, the paper undertakes the problem of redefining the concepts of elite and elitism in the contemporary society.