The need for involvement : social, personal, and academic development in the small-scaled school /

Abstract

Throughout the twentieth century, the number of American students has steadily increased while the number of schools has declined. Much of this is due to the consolidation of schools, a trend that has seen many smaller schools go by the wayside as larger ones have replaced them. In part, this is due to the population increase and the closer proximity of these students to a larger centralized school building. Other factors contributed greatly to this trend, as cost savings, a greater breadth of course offerings and the potential for greater extracurricular achievements were introduced as potential positive outcomes. It was thought that the improvement in these areas would lead to greater academic achievements of students, as well as heightened personal and social growth. The mere fact that consolidation has proceeded so successfully this century would cause one to conclude that larger schools have succeeded in the mentioned areas, but much of the research states the contrary. On the whole, monetary savings have not occurred in larger schools, and though many have offered broader course selections, the majority of students are unable to take advantage of such availability. Small schools, because of the potential for a high percent of student involvement, provide a broader curriculum in that their students have a greater opportunity to be significant contributors in the school and what occurs there. And the involvement in the school community and its activities tends to carry over into real life situations, as graduate students from small schools tend to continue involvement in adult life. In light of this, small schools and the education that occurs therein must once again be seen as valuable. And as school consolidation is questioned, we must look into ways of turning existing large schools into structures that provide more of the personalized, positive outcomes currently occurring in small-scale schools.