Centralized decentralization or decentralized centralization? A review of newer Norwegian research on schools and their communities

Kvalsund, Rune

doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2009.02.006

Cited by 44 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Although most researchers working on small rural schools are in agreement that IESs are culturallyspecific educational entities (e.g. Bell and Sigsworth, 1987;Kalaoja and Pietarinen, 2009;Karlberg-Granlund, 2009;Walker and Clark, 2010), IESs are, particularly in educational policy, perceived as lower-level versions of larger urban schools (Kvalsund, 2009). FESs thus serve as the models of "school normality", and various criteria indicating performance, organization, facilities, etc., are presented in relation to and in comparison with FESs.…”

Section: Providing Elementary Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the priorities of centralized educational policy in most countries is to ensure the quality of elementary education, while maintaining as much financial effectiveness as possible (Kvalsund, 2009). This, measured by short-term profits, means a guarantee of maximum output (i.e.…”

Section: Policy In the Management Of Catchment Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, a school pattern is considered to be an equalitarian unit: a tool for education, in which every school is ideally replaceable by another, if reorganized. This kind of policy does not take into account the specifics of each educational institute nor the local relationships between schools and local communities (Kvalsund, 2009). …”

Section: Policy In the Management Of Catchment Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The provision of elementary education is a relatively important political issue, which, in the context of overall state governance and economic development, changes over time. The provision of elementary education in rural areas is now often debated in the context of the sustainable development of rural areas, or identities of rural communities in the context of broadly understood spatial policy, planning and management (Kvalsund, 2009;Ribchester, Edwards, 1999;Walker and Clark, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20^th century

Kučerová

Bláha

Kučera

2015

Moravian Geographical Reports

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Section: Providing Elementary Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policy In the Management Of Catchment Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policy In the Management Of Catchment Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20^th century

Kučerová

Bláha

Kučera

2015

Moravian Geographical Reports

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“…Zásadní podmínkou, rámcem realizace a čtvrtým faktorem ovlivňujícím podobu a organizaci školství je stav a vývoj školské politiky a legislativního nastavení v této oblasti [viz např. Bradford 1991;Kvalsund 2009;Trnková, Knotová, Chaloupková 2010].…”

Section: úVodunclassified

Small Rural Schools in the Primary Education Market: The Example of Turnov Region

Kučerová¹,

Bláha²,

Pavlasová³

2015

Czech Sociological Review

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Abstract:The article deals with selected issues relating to the provision and accessibility of primary education in rural, non-exposed areas. These issues are examined from the viewpoint that various conditions force even public education to be guided by certain principles of the free market (e.g. competing for clients), although its actions in this respect are simultaneously rather constrained. The article sets out to analyse the primary education market in a model region Turnov (situated in Czechia) in relation to the type of catchment area. It discusses the pitfalls of public school marketisation, and it analyses the spatial distribution of schools in the model region and the schools' jurisdictions based on the different types of catchment areas, which are defi ned and created in the form of cartographic visualisation. The article also examines four municipalities with small rural school as case studies selected on the basis of representing different types of catchment area. The authors discuss the fi ndings of in-depth interviews that were conducted with headmasters, school operators, and some parents in the four municipalities in order to identify the strategies that schools can use to strengthen their position in the primary education market. The authors fi nd that not only do schools' marketing strategies vary little depending on their geographical location but the majority of schools in the case study have not formulated a unique and systematic vision and mission for their school. The principal features of all the schools studied are their self-identifi cation in opposition to the culture of urban schools.

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Bigger or Better? Research-Based Reflections on the Cultural Deconstruction of Rural Schools in Norway: Metaperspectives

Kvalsund

2019

Knowledge and Space

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Patterns of the demographic balance between rural and urban life in Norway have changed fundamentally during the last hundred years. In 1900, 80% of residents lived in a rural setting and 20% in an urban one; in 2015, this proportion was reversed. This pattern of settlement indicates an uneven balance of political power between the country's center (the capital and its region) and its periphery; School history in Norway is therefore largely the history of rural primary schools in sparsely populated areas. Local communities and schools are social units and institutions for developing, delivering, implementing, and maintaining services within the welfare state and can be seen both as instruments for the benefit of the nation-state and simultaneously as a broadly contributing recruitment arena for meaningful community life at the municipal and county level. Closer analysis of the Norwegian situation, however, reveals a hegemonic relationship and conflicting conceptions of this relationship, with long historical roots representing a tension between "ordinary people" and the "power elite" (cf.

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Centralized decentralization or decentralized centralization? A review of newer Norwegian research on schools and their communities

Cited by 44 publications

References 8 publications

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20^th century

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20^th century

Small Rural Schools in the Primary Education Market: The Example of Turnov Region

Bigger or Better? Research-Based Reflections on the Cultural Deconstruction of Rural Schools in Norway: Metaperspectives

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Centralized decentralization or decentralized centralization? A review of newer Norwegian research on schools and their communities

Cited by 44 publications

References 8 publications

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20th century

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20th century

Small Rural Schools in the Primary Education Market: The Example of Turnov Region

Bigger or Better? Research-Based Reflections on the Cultural Deconstruction of Rural Schools in Norway: Metaperspectives

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Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20^th century

Transformations of spatial relationships in elementary education: A case study of changes in two Czech rural areas since the second half of the 20^th century