Transformation and Trend of Doctoral Education in China and Poland (1980s – 2010s). A Comparative Study

The past 30-strong years has seen remarkable achievements that both Poland and China have made in Doctoral Education along different paths though. Drawing on policy research and extensive data, this paper sets out to examine the transformations of doctor education across the two countries within these intervening years. It is found that the changes in Poland were mainly influenced by the political transitions, its integration with European education system, and particularly the Bologna Process while China’s educational reform was amenable to the national economic policy and the government behavior. As regards the prospect of doctoral education, the two countries have both common grounds and differences. Poland and China will have more diversified structure in doctoral education, pay closer attention to STEM discipline’s developments as well as external and intermediary assessment in quality control. Also, the managements of doctoral programs in two countries will be characterized by further decentralization of government and internationalization of education. In the next few years, however, the scale of China’s doctoral education will remain at the current level or even expand modestly, whereas that of Poland’s doctoral education is likely to shrink due to the population decline.