Some school districts have centralized school operations as a means to ensure universal access to schools of choice. Yet, centralization can infringe on charter school autonomy. We explore how district and charter school leaders in three contexts perceive and negotiate the trade-offs between centralized versus school-based autonomy. We find that…

School district consolidation is one of the most widespread education reforms of the last century, but surprisingly little research has directly investigated its effectiveness. To examine the impact of consolidation on student achievement, this study takes advantage of a policy that requires the consolidation of all Arkansas school districts with…

The mission of all primary schools includes offering all pupils educational quality and equality. Municipalities struggle with the negative consequences of school segregation, and some local councils decide to implement extensive changes in their school organization to offer all pupils equal opportunities. This study analyzes the experiences of…

This study examines how student achievement changes following a transfer to a newly opened school. Using comprehensive data on students and teachers from Michigan schools that opened or closed between the 2010-11 and 2018-19 school years, the study employs event study models to evaluate changes in student outcomes as the local supply of schools…

School district consolidation is one of the most widespread education reforms of the last century, but surprisingly little research has directly investigated its effectiveness. To examine the impact of consolidation on student achievement, this study takes advantage of a policy that requires the consolidation of all Arkansas school districts with…

In the late 1990s, an extensive consolidation of schools in rural China led to the amalgamation of numerous primary and secondary schools into urban schools or their discontinuation. The study aimed to investigate whether China's school consolidation movement has influenced the educational attainment of rural students. The data are sourced from…

This article reports on a study that was prompted by the resistance to school mergers by local communities in the rural region of Limpopo, South Africa. Traditional leaders, who are prominent people in rural communities, were at the forefront of protests against school mergers. Thus, it was necessary to investigate the tensions experienced by the…

Over the past fifty years, school districts have consolidated in an effort to achieve economies of scale. While the determinants and effects of district mergers on operations have been studied (Gordon and Knight 2006; Duncombe and Yinger 2007; Jones et al 2008), the impact on communities has not. In small towns, schools not only educate, but also…

Purpose: School consolidation reforms are underway in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The purpose of this paper is to establish an evidence base of research literature on school consolidation in regional, rural and remote locations. Design/methodology/approach: A scoping study of empirical literature on school consolidation, with a…

In 2017 to 2018, the University of Wisconsin (UW) System undertook a major consolidation, removing its two-year college campuses from a standalone sub-system known as the UW Colleges and merging them with nearby four-year UW institutions. The system-level motivation for doing so, in a state undergoing a demographic shift with an aging population,…

This article explores the factors associated with support for a merger of Ontario's two publicly funded school systems (secular and Catholic). Drawing upon survey data from over 2,000 Ontarians, it investigates the sociodemographic and attitudinal correlates of opinions toward school system reform. We find evidence that both political attitudes…

This study of district closure and charter termination includes more than 18,000 students in four districts and more than 48 charter schools. Four main types of schools are included in these analyses: (1) District consolidation in which schools closed entirely and students transferred to schools in a new district (Wilmer-Hutchins ISD and Kendleton…

In "The College Stress Test," Robert Zemsky, Susan Shaman, and Susan Campbell Baldridge present readers with a full, frank, and informed discussion about college and university closures. Drawing on the massive institutional data set available from IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), they build a stress test for…

This study explored the impact of rural school district consolidation in eastern North Carolina. Wilkins County is a low-income, low-performing county with an average daily membership (ADM) of 1,501 students. This case study reviews the process of consolidation one year after the 2017-2018 consolidation in terms of academic, financial, and…

State schooling is currently transforming Tibetans' perceptions and everyday experiences in Western China. Based on interviews with rural Tibetan parents and grandparents, and using subjectification as an analytical concept, this paper argues that schooling, alongside socio-economic changes, powerfully shapes the subjectivities of Tibetan parents…