This paper evaluates economies of scale and scope, and the merger effect among national universities in Japan. We apply SUR for the total translog cost function in FY2014 and FY2018. The main results are: (i) there exist economies of scale as a whole university; (ii) but there exist no clear economies of scope except for in research; (iii) there…

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 rural Canada the issue of school closures and consolidations due to low enrollment and heightened fiscal constraints has become a contentious and highly charged issue for citizens and communities. This literature review synthesizes the major effects of school closure on rural communities, identifying economic impacts, social impacts, and…

The authors argue that from the perspective of distributive justice, school district fragmentation--meaning both the existing reality of hyper-proliferated school districts and the practice of further breaking larger districts into smaller ones--produces three distinct injustices. First, it undermines racial solidarity and the bonds of community.…

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…

For close to fifty years, rural and non-metro counties in New York State have suffered economic and demographic declines. This paper examines the impact of urban-normative educational reform efforts on one community, and the continued crisis emerging after the consolidated district closed the elementary school. Using Discourse Analysis, two sets…

Massachusetts is the least rural state in the US, and its existing rural communities are shrinking. This paper examines the historical processes of urbanization, specifically through industrialization that have come to dominate and erase rural communities in the state. The capitalist mindset behind industrialization has spread to education where…

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…

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…

Little research examines the sociocultural aspects of consolidating two post-secondary educational institutions. In a previous study we collected baseline data and reported on the initial impact of consolidation of a research-oriented, health sciences university with a teaching-oriented, comprehensive university. In the study we report here we…

In 1998, the People's Republic of China implemented an education policy, the "School Consolidation Policy", which entailed merging small rural schools with larger ones. It has had a massive effect on rural people across China, and as a result of it, over 60% of schools in outlying areas have closed. The policy's implementation and…

Island studies have rarely focused on the role of small schools on offshore islands. Island schools are often impacted by the decisions of national, regional and local educational authorities, particularly in today's world where diseconomic and disbenefit arguments highlight the non-viability of small schools. Such schools are seen as unable to…

This paper provides a summary of the analysis of school enumeration returns in Ohio from 1925 through 1939, prior to state-wide school consolidation, in 26 counties. Data suggests that a wide range of students with disabilities were accommodated and included in the public-school system. The paper discusses legislation, medical, and clinical…

Over the past decade, multiple states have implemented a form of regional school district consolidation referred to as multi-district unions. Their organizational structure enables districts to retain individual school boards within regional local education agencies, all of which are overseen by a superintendent and a central board. However, no…

Boundary lines have long served as a mechanism to divide people, determining the quality of available resources, and ultimately, educational opportunity. In recent years, new school district boundaries have proliferated as local communities attempt to secede from larger school districts. In this study of Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee, we extend…