earticle

영어

Due to the decrease in the school-age population due to the low birth rate, the number of students is decreasing and small schools are increasing not only in rural areas but also in urban areas. The appropriate size school policy, which has been promoted mainly for consolidation and abolition to solve the problem of small schools, is revealing its limitations. As a result of analyzing the number of students, neighboring schools, development status, and location conditions of small elementary schools in large cities, the number of students decreased by 46.79% on average, Busan has the largest number of small schools, and Daejeon and Gwangju have the largest number of rural schools. Schools in urban areas are under construction of apartments or are scheduled for redevelopment and reconstruction, and rural schools are difficult to consolidate because there are no nearby schools. As a result of analyzing the types of schools that can be promoted, 15 schools can be consolidated, 24 schools for integrated operation, and 31 schools for branch school reorganization, and 41 schools need to maintain existing schools. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the operation of small schools and appropriate school policies considering regional characteristics.