Education Reform: The Effects of School Consolidation on Teachers and Teaching

Abstract

At least as early as the nineteenth century, the two most related approaches to societal improvement have been restructuring and systemic reform. For education, that has meant school closures as well as consolidation of schools and school districts. Although there exists a substantive literature on educational reform there appears to be little discussion on the impact such actions have on schools. This paper briefly describes research on current issues in rural education with a focus on consolidation. The methodology emphasizes teachers’ knowledge of practice and is followed by the findings, which highlight the impact these reforms have on practicing teachers. The argument is made that government reforms have adopted consolidation of schools and districts as a primary strategy for fiscal accountability. This focus singles out economics, while excluding the cultural and social context embedded within schools and central to the communities in which the schools are situated. In this paper, the argument put forth is that consolidation as a single-minded strategy of education reform is an inadequate framework that places teachers’ work and student learning at risk. The accounts of practicing educators speak for using consolidation only where absolutely necessary and maintaining as many small schools as possible. Depuis au moins le 19e siecle, les deux approches visant l’amelioration de la societe les plus liees sont la restructuration et la reforme systemique. Dans le domaine dans l’education, cela s’est traduit par la fermeture d’ecoles et la consolidation d’ecoles et de districts scolaires. Malgre la documentation significative portant sur la reforme educationnelle, peu de discussion semble exister sur l’impact de telles actions sur les ecoles. Cet article decrit brievement la recherche sur les enjeux actuels en education rurale et porte une attention particuliere a la consolidation. La methodologie met l’accent sur les connaissances qu’ont les enseignants de la pratique. Les resultats soulignent l’impact de ces reformes sur les enseignants en exercice. On affirme que les reformes gouvernementales ont adopte la consolidation des ecoles et des districts comme strategie principale pour des raisons de responsabilite financiere. Cette concentration sur l’economie exclut le contexte culturel et social qu’on retrouve au sein des ecoles et qui est integre aux communautes dans lesquelles se trouvent ces ecoles. Cet article maintient que la consolidation comme strategie resolue en reforme de l’education constitue un cadre inadequat qui met a risque le travail des enseignants et l’apprentissage par les eleves. Les temoignages des enseignants en exercice militent en faveur de maintenir ouvertes autant de petites ecoles que possible et de recourir a la consolidation uniquement lorsque cela est absolument necessaire.