Poznań School of Socio-Economic Geography (And Spatial Management) of Adam Mickiewicz University (In Poznań)

In the Polish language of science there is such a term as scientific school. This notion seems, however, to be overused in many cases concerning the Polish scientific community. This is so because scientific school is understood as a specific place (a scientific centre) in which research is conducted. In this approach scientific school is simply a name for itself, replacing the official name of a particular scientific unit and its employees, such as: faculty, institute, chair, department, laboratory, etc., included in a given university or research institute. Thus, in the broadly understood Polish science, there are many scientific schools related to different disciplines and specialities studied in various types of scientific and research units. Meanwhile, scientific school seems to be a very specific term and its use in relation to a specific research unit requires that a specific (research) unit should meet precise criteria, not always possible to be fulfilled. All this means that the number of real scientific schools in Polish science is rather limited.

However, Polish scientific and popular-science literature describes or mentions “real” scientific schools which are of major importance not only for Polish science. The unquestionable, world-class scientific school was the Lviv school of mathematics whose most prominent representatives were S. Banach, H, Steinhaus, S. Mazur, S. Ulam, L. Chwistek and in the beginning also K. Kuratowski who then moved to Warsaw, and many other distinguished mathematicians (Urbanek 2014). Another well-known Polish scientific school was the Lviv-Warsaw school of philosophy established by K. Twardowski whose representatives and successors were, among others, K. Ajdukiewicz, T. Kotarbiński, S. Leśniewski, J. Łukasiewicz, A. Tarski, W. Witwicki, M. Ossowska, S. Ossowski, W. Tatarkiewicz and also I. Dąmbska who later worked in Cracow alongside R. Ingarden, a student of E. Husserl (Woleński 1985; Kostrzewska-Będarkiewicz 2017).

As was stated earlier, there are many names of the more or less distinguished Polish scientific schools present in media

The author also uses short forms such as the Poznań School or the School in the following parts of the article.

The paper aims to characterise in rather general terms the Poznań school of socio-economic geography and since the end of the 20th century socio-economic geography and spatial management, on the basis of the scientific output of its Master and its main representatives as well as undertaken activities in broadly understood science

A certain profile of “the Poznań school of socio-economic geography” can be found in the articles of T. Czyż, and “spatial management” in the papers of J. Parysek, published in Dzieje nauk geograficznych i geologicznych na Uniwersytecie w Poznaniu (History of geographical and geological sciences at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań). Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk. Poznań 2012. Cf. T. Czyż 2012a, 2012b, 2012c; J. Parysek 2012.

As has already been mentioned, a scientific school is usually a community of scholars, representatives of a given scientific discipline, associated with a specific university (or universities) functioning in a given city, united by particular approaches to scientific problems and by accepted ideas, views, methods used etc., which has substantial achievements in a given scientific discipline. In other words, this is a community of academics accepting a particular paradigm

The term ‘paradigm’ is variously interpreted, often in an incorrect way. It was introduced into science by T.J. Kuhn (1970, 1985, 1993). In general terms, it is a way of perceiving reality accepted in a given discipline by certain communities of scholars, which characterises (creates) a set of adopted notions and theories fixed in tradition and existing practice (Kuhn 1970, 1985, 1993; Barbour 1984). Moreover, a paradigm is treated as a model for conducted research (Barbour 1984) or for solving scientific problems (Jodkowski 1990; Parysek 2017a, 2017b).

The factor that played a major part in the establishment of the Poznań School was undoubtedly the personality of Professor Zbyszko Chojnicki, his knowledge, authority and activity in the field of staff education. The suggested trends in research were also attractive, especially: (1) quantitative methods and models, and its application in geographical studies, (2) theory and methodology of geography and spatial management, (3) dynamic and structural research related to the use of quantitative methods in determining the socio-economic spatial and regional structure of Poland, and also (4) the topicality and importance of undertaken research issues to gain knowledge of current events and processes (Chojnicki 1999, 2010; Czyż, Parysek, Stryjakiewicz 2015a, 2015b). The freedom in determining individual research interests accepted by the professor was encouraging, but on the other hand, he also imposed discipline in methodological order, terminological correctness and logic behind the conducted research and prepared texts. Each work had to include theoretical aspects, apply a specific methodological approach, e.g. correct methods of quantitative analysis, and also involve an interesting and important research issue. To be in the professor’s research team, that is in the School, was an honour on the one hand, but also a great challenge and obligation on the other.

The knowledge which was the effect of his natural aptitude and work and also his stay in the USA was the magnet attracting students to their Master. What was particularly drawing attention was quantitative methods and their application, mainly learning the basics of the suggested and applied methods, which guaranteed the correctness of both, the use and interpretation of the obtained results. Not everybody in the School presented this kind of approach equally. For some, exploring the nature of the method was the essence of the conducted investigations, for others, effective application of a given method in the conducted research was more important. This kind of approach was typical of the so-called first-generation students. As time passed, some students of the School lost interest in only quantitative methods and were more engaged in, first, the effective use of these methods in conducted studies and then in the exploration of new, significant and up-to-date research issues or in theoretical and methodological discussions. There were scholars, however, for whom the search for new methods and possibilities of their application was never a secondary issue despite undertaking ever more up-to-date empirical research and the-oretical-methodological discussions.

The cooperation of the School students with a group of Poznań statisticians and mathematicians played a pivotal role in the development of the application of quantitative methods in geography. Some of them were included in the personnel of the Institute headed by the professor

These were primarily the statistitians who were centred around Prof. Caliński of the then Agricultural Academy in Poznań, such as M. Krzyśko, T. Kaczmarek, M. Karoński and E. Malec and also B. Kotkowski and J. Hauke, employed in the Institute in various periods as well as cooperating A. Maćkiewicz (the Poznań University of Technology), to a lesser extent other scholars.

The developed and tested methods did not belong exclusively to the scholars learning them, on the contrary, they were disseminated as part of the seminars on the application of quantitative methods and models in geography organised by Prof. Chojnicki, held with the participation of geographers from the majority of Polish geographical centres. As a result, numerous publications edited by Professor Chojnicki were issued as part of the editorial activity of the Poznań Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and PWN (Polish Scientific Publishers

These publications, prepared under the editorship of Prof. Chojnicki are listed in the References at the end of this article.

The output of the Master as well as his students regarding the theory and methodology of socio-economic geography and spatial management should be first of all included in the achievements of the Poznań School, with the professor’s works playing a leading and major role. The studies of theoretical and methodological issues seem to be a logical consequence of the gained experience in the area of quantitative methods and their application. This is because the use of a particular method required the good knowledge of both the general methodology of sciences and the methodology of geographical sciences, and later also spatial management which was Professor Chojnicki’s new subject of interest being at the same time an inspiration for the activities of his associates. The professor’s care for progress in the methodology of geography and its development was undoubtedly the reason why he organised the national Geographic Conference in 1983 in Rydzyna

The present author was a co-organiser of both conferences in Rydzyna and in Słubice.

Since the beginning of the 1990s the professor and the students of the School started to be interested, as was mentioned earlier, in spatial management, in creating theoretical-methodological bases of which both the professor and some of his students played a major role. The development of this new research trend resulted in the opening of a new course of study in the academic year 1991/1992 as part of local management and spatial planning, termed spatial management before the graduation of the first students. It was a unique course of study, not only in the country, which exists in different forms to this day

At the same time a similar course of study was opened at the Faculty of Architecture of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, cf. Parysek (2017a) and Zipser (2017).

All these events and initiatives constitute the achievements of the Poznań school of socio-economic geography and spatial management.

The functions which were fulfilled and are fulfilled in the field of spatial management by the Master and the students of the School in the scientific environment of geographers and specialists additionally justify the significance of the Poznań School of socio-economic geography and spatial management. Shown above are only selected, more important scientific and organisational achievements of the School. Their full picture can be seen in the scientific output of the Master and the students (to a lesser extent, the auditing students of this School), presented briefly, due to the limited space, in the further part of the study.

As was already stated, there is no scientific school without a master who, in the case of the Poznań school of socio-economic geography (and spatial management) was Professor Zbyszko Chojnicki. The professor was a lawyer and philosopher by education

This text is a subjective and for many reasons not complete presentation of the Master’s and the Poznań School students’ scientific achievements. It is based on Google Scholar publications, webpages of the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the publications: Czyż, Parysek, Stryjakiewicz (2015a, 2015b), Czyż (2012a, 2012b, 2012c) and Parysek (1998, 2012, 2018).

It is highly probable that the same factors and also the new paradigm of socio-economic geography were instrumental in creating and developing the Poznań School of socio-economic geography (and spatial management). They were also important for the expansion of the field of geographical studies offered in the Poznań centre to include spatial management, which took place in the 1990s and in the next years (Parysek 2018).

Referring to the above-mentioned regional science development factors and their impact on the creation of the Poznań school, the following should be emphasised:

Professor Chojnicki’s stay in the United States contributed, undoubtedly, to the opening of a new field of research interests characterised by a high innovativeness of the problem approach and also a gradual reduction in research conducted in traditional approaches with a low level of innovativeness. This is evidenced mainly by the scientific achievements of the professor, concerning especially

This text will present only the publications of crucial significance, in the opinion of the present author, for determining the character of the Poznań school of socio-economic geography and spatial management and its scientific output (with a certain preference for monographs and papers in English).

Quantitative methods were understood very broadly in the school, from balance and indicator methods, through statistical ones, particularly in the field of multivariate statistics, graph, econometric methods and those of so-called social physics up to mathematical and formal modelling. This is so because Professor Chojnicki regarded these methods as useful and effective tools for research and refinement of knowledge and also the way to give geographical knowledge more theoretical character. Special emphasis should be put on the achievements of Zbyszko Chojnicki in the area of conception and application of gravity and potential models (Chojnicki 1966, 2011a, 2011b), correlation and regression analyses, taxonomic methods (Chojnicki, Czyż 1973), methods of factor analysis and principal components analysis (Chojnicki, Czyż, Parysek, Ratajczak 1979), as well as the analyses of spatial distribution and Markov’s chains in geographical research. He noticed both the benefits of using these methods and models and also the limitations and difficulties in their correct application and interpretation of results

Only the works of major significance for the development of the School research profile are presented, especially those monographic in character, articles published in English, and also, although to a limited extent, other original works, both individual and with joint authorship recognised by the present author as the most important for the characteristics of the School, its Master and the students.

In the theory and methodology of geography, the professor’s considerable achievement was the presentation of a new methodological concept of socio-economic geography as a basis for determining the area of interests and aims of this scientific discipline from the point of view of its share in solving basic problems of contemporary science, including also practical ones. Particular attention should be paid to the discussions on the structure of geographical knowledge and its development models. Professor reconstructed and analysed the philosophical and methodological orientation of socio-economic geography and created cognitive models and theoretical assumptions for the development of this scientific discipline. He formulated a systemic model of scientific discipline, which was the starting point for the methodological analysis of geography, and proposed adopting a systemic approach on the basis of which he presented the conception of a territorial social system. This conception became not only a new paradigm of the subject approach and research in geography, but has played a significant role in determining the subject matter of spatial management (Chojnicki 1985, 1988a, 1988b, 1992b, 1996; Parysek 2006). This conception was expanded into a systemic theory of the geographical region and a model of its development (Chojnicki 1996). Reflections on the development should be related to a philosophical analysis of time and space and also the indication of their importance for determining the geographical discipline

E. Ostrom, the Nobel Prize winner in economics, invokes the opinion of Z. Chojnicki on this matter (Czyż, Parysek, Stryjakiewicz 2015a, 2015b).

The studies on the spatial socio-economic and regional structure of Poland carried out by Z. Chojnicki are characterised by originality and innovativeness which concerns equally the concepts of this research and its analytical aspect. They are still valid, as a research pattern, although currently less up-to-date in cognitive terms (the flow of time). The first study in this field was the analysis of the country’s regional structure in railway freight flows (Chojnicki 1961). The professor also dealt with the analysis of the network of regional settlement systems, the standard of living of the population in reference to the economic development level, economic changes in Poland and the process of systemic transformation (Chojnicki, Czyż, Parysek 1997), post-modernist development (Chojnicki 1992a), the spatial structure of Polish science and education (Czyż, Chojnicki 1997) and a knowledge-based economy (Czyż, Chojnicki 2006, 2008a, 2008b).

As a distinguished scholar, Professor Chojnicki gathered, as was already mentioned, a group of young, talented colleagues who were attracted by his view on science, especially socio-economic geography and spatial management, determinants and trends in geographical development, theoretical-methodological bases and theoretical-methodological orientations in geography, the role of methods and quantitative models in conducted research, a systemic approach, etc. He strictly controlled his scientific work and expected that others also carefully consider their research, especially his students. He did not accept the terminological and conceptual chaos, authoritarian judgements, insufficiently documented views and opinions. Only thus, in his opinion, could an appropriate level of scientific papers be ensured. Along with friendly advice provided to his students, he expressed his reservations in a decisive manner, while being open to discussing and defending their own points of view. He took care of the correctness and accuracy of the scientific language applied. For his students he was a perfect guide on the paths of scientific development, open to new ideas and concepts. He did not impose scientific issues and ways of solving them, but he did not accept trivial problems and similar methods. He was an authority that he had established through his lasting scientific achievements. He will remain such an authority not only for his students.

Is not an easy and undisputable matter to compile a complete list of the students of the Poznań School (of socio-economic geography and spatial management) as well as a synthetic presentation of their contributions to its development and its position among scientific achievements. A certain distinguishing criterion can be the direct impact of the Master on the student, manifested in the role played by the professor on the path to scientific development being, e.g. the supervisor of MA theses and doctoral dissertations, reviewer in post-doctoral degree processes or in procedures for applying for the professor’s title. It is worth remembering that masters were not excluded from the procedures for academic promotion of their students, as is the case today. Another criterion of the proposed classification is whether the dominant influence on the scientific development of a particular person had the Master only, or also his students, or, above all, mainly the students. Moreover, in the compilation of the most important representatives of the School, what was also taken into account was if a particular person under the scientific supervision of another scholar (supervisor) used, and to what extent, the scientific achievements of Professor Chojnicki. However, it is hard to imagine that academics who practise science are immune to the views and scientific achievements of an outstanding scholar managing their scientific unit for many years. Priorities and evolution of individual scientific interests were also important. At this point, it is also necessary to emphasise that in recent years in the Poznań School there has been observed, though difficult to explain and understand, quite a clear decrease in references to the professor’s scientific output, especially noticeable among the younger generation. These are first of all scholars who did not listen to his lectures before and did not participate in seminars, who adopt a different theoretical-methodological orientation, do not attach much importance to theory and methodology and are fascinated by a personality and work style of their academic supervisor, or take their own development path.

The adopted classification might be burdened with a too subjective approach, but each classification is better than none, especially when it is adequate and separate and when it concerns the situation in which many of the sholars employed in the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management of Adam Mickiewicz University may feel or not the students of Professor Chojnicki or deserve this name

This work takes into account the output of those School students who greatly contributed to its development and functioning. The titles of a professor or a post-doctoral degree (dr hab.) were additional criteria of the selection (except for auditing students).

In this paper, just like in school, the following are distinguished: (1) first-generation students, (2) second-generation students, (3) students of the first-generation students, and (4) auditing students. Thus, the first-generation students are those who were fortunate to have Professor Chojnicki as the supervisor of their MA theses and doctoral dissertations, the reviewer in their post-doctoral processes or during the application for professor’s title and no one else exerted this almost exclusive, in a sense, influence on their scientific development, except for their own interests and engagement. These are also scholars whose scientific output is clearly part of the professor’s academic activities. This is a generation born in the ‘around war’ period (1938–1946). The characteristic scientific activity of this group was seeking and learning quantitative analysis methods for the purpose of their effective application in the conducted scientific research. However, it was not about treating these methods as a means to an end, but about understanding their nature, bearing in mind the correct application of the method and the reliable interpretation of results. All those academics, together with the Master, were the precursors of the application of many statistical and mathematical methods in Polish geographical research. Apart from that, they undertook original research using these methods. To a greater or smaller degree, they were also interested in the methodological issues of socio-economic geography and spatial management.

The second-generation students are scholars whose MA theses and doctoral dissertations were also supervised by Professor Chojnicki, but the first-generation students, next to the professor, took part in their education process as well. They were born in the 1950s and were equipped with ready-made workshop methods which they adapted to the innovative scientific studies they conducted. A more serious interest in quantitative methods was replaced then by original research issues.

The students of the first-generation students are scholars whose scientific development was supervised by those first-generation students, but their approach to the undertaken issues is clearly related to the views and opinions of Professor Chojnicki, which were adopted directly, i.e. by the contact with the Master, and indirectly, by their scientific supervisors. These are academics born at the end of the 1960s and at the beginning of the 1970s. In their scientific research, they also employed quantitative analysis methods making use of both the output of the Poznań School and their own ideas. As was the school’s tradition, they also explored innovative scientific issues referring to the changing reality and to the widening interests of the Institute.

The students of the three distinguished categories of the Poznań School graduated from geographical studies and are (were) engaged in scientific, didactic and organisational activity at the present Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management of Adam Mickiewicz University directed by Professor Chojnicki for many years. As the time passed and generations changed, it is visible, however, that the focus of scientific interests of scholars shifted from the theoretical-methodological aspect to the empirical one without neglecting the former.

The auditing students of the School are the academics whose scientific development at the present Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management was supervised by other scholars, but who referred to the professor’s research orientation and the output of his associates and also co-created this output. They contributed to the School by both searching for quantitative analysis methods and their application and undertaking important, up-to-date scientific issues. Some of them shaped their initial and further development outside the parent unit which was Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

As was already emphasised, the classification, like the whole text, resulted from subjective considerations of the present author, who classified himself as a first-generation student because he meets all the requirements of the classification and in many cases (also concerning a theoretical-methodological correctness of the presented texts and a care for the purity of scientific language) refers to the opinion of the Master (Parysek 2016a, 2016b, 2018).

The first-generation students are undoubtedly: Teresa Czyż, Jerzy J. Parysek, the late Henryk Rogacki, and Waldemar Ratajczak

The promising pupil of the School was Kazimierz Polarczyk, whose professional activity (also political one before) took place and still does outside the sphere of science.

We live in rapidly changing times and the observed changes also involve science. Different paradigms, ideas, conceptions and models of scientific development are assumed and various, completely new research problems relating to the observed changes are undertaken; approaches and scientific methods vary. Scientific schools also change. New ones are created, whereas the existing schools alter their character or fail. A lot of factors make the Poznań School of socio-economic geography and spatial management transform over time. Professor Zbyszko Chojnicki, the creator of the School and master of the three generations of students, is no longer among the scientific community of the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management of Adam Mickiewicz University. The living first-generation students have been in well-deserved retirement for several years now. And although they did not stop their scientific activity, their role in staff education is decidedly smaller than in the previous years and in some cases negligible. Although the research issues undertaken by the first associates of the professor and their scientific interests are somewhat different than they used to be, quantitative methods and theoretical-methodological questions as well as original research issues are characteristic of their creative output up to now. Some students of the second generation approach the retirement age, but their scientific activity has not waned and new, attractive issues for research appear. The direction in which the School will develop and the position it will take in Polish socio-economic geography and spatial management will depend on these few scholars, the students of the first-generation students and also on others, young, talented Institute employees. Today, the School is different than at the time when Prof. Chojnicki and his most faithful students and associates, later teachers of the School, decided about its creation, development and importance. It is the School whose contemporary character is shaped by a group of academics, employees of the Institute, focused around the second-generation students and the students of the first-generation students. In comparison to the situation from the initial years, i.e. 1970–1980, the staff potential of the School has clearly increased to the number that many geographical centres in the world can only dream about. Even though a handful of scholars find quantitative methods and theoretical-methodological reflections scientifically engaging, the research issues are continually extended into new, up-to-date, important and attractive topics

A lower interest in quantitative methods is certainly caused by greater availability of computer calculation programmes and the development of GIS techniques.