Final answer:
Helena Znaniecki Lopata studied how Polish peasants' attitudes towards education, marked by local cultural identity and resistance to foreign dominance, were brought to the U.S. These views were akin to America's own belief in Exceptionalism and the immigrant's pursuit of economic opportunity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Helena Znaniecki Lopata's statement that "The attitudes of the Polish peasants toward education were transplanted to the American soil" reflects the cultural and educational perspectives brought by Polish immigrants to the United States. The attitudes of Polish peasants traditionally stemmed from an agrarian society with a strong attachment to the land and a sense of local identity and culture, or what cultural anthropologist Robert Redfield referred to as a "little tradition". During the time of partition and colonization, and subsequently during the socialist era in Poland, education was viewed as a means of nationalistic expression and as a way to assert Polish identity. This included resistance to foreign influences, such as the removal of Russian language classes from schools' curricula and the protests against the Soviet presence in the country.