Distance education and social conditions emigrants
polish in Great Britain to followers of other
religions
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Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie
Publication date: 2014-09-30
JoMS 2014;21(2):11-36
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
A still continuing high level of migration of Poles causes them all sorts
of repercussions. Frequently, already at the time of arrival in a new country,
they are affected by a sense of alienation stemming inter alia from insufficient
knowledge about the culture of the country of stay. This is reflected,
among others, by distancing towards people of other nationalities
or religions (cf. R. Bera, 2008). This may lead to adverse results in the form
of separation or marginalization of these people.
The aim of the study was to determine the importance of education
in shaping social distance of Polish emigrants to people of different faiths.
The studies included followers of major religions of the world: Christianity
(Catholicism, Orthodoxy), Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. The study
involved 262 people, including 137 Poles living in economic emigration
in England and 125 citizens of the host country - the English. The sample
selection was of random character. To measure the social distance an
adapted version of E. Boards scale was used. It was distributed using social
networking websites and in this way it was acquired.
The study of Polish immigrants showed that their perception of other
faiths depends on the level of their education. In particular, it refers to the
followers of religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. Frequently
Poles with secondary education perceive their subjects differently, more
negatively.
The situation is different with regard to the English under study. In
general, they declare their positive attitude towards the followers of other
religions. Their level of distancing themselves is fairly homogeneous, more
sympathetic, and not dependent on their level of education. In none of the
cases examined there was any difference at a statistically significant level.