Community School Model: Is It an Alternative for School Closures in Rural Territories?

In the light of rural depopulation and a decreasing number of schoolchildren, municipalities with rural territories face a question regarding whether to close small rural schools or seek alternatives for school operation. The analysis of a quantitative survey of rural municipalities and rural schools is focused on these main questions: what are the extended functions of rural schools with pupils less than 100, and whether the community school model in rural municipalities may be considered as an alternative to school closures in the context of depopulation of rural territories. The results of quantitative surveys are supplemented and explained by the data of 58 in-depth interviews with different stakeholders, living or working in rural areas. The main findings show that rural schools and municipalities positively evaluate the approach of community schools with extended functions, and partly it is an adaptation strategy for the diminishing number of pupils. However, extended functions and the community school model do not serve as an important argument for keeping a school open, but as a means for attracting pupils from neighbouring municipalities, and is a form of competition between municipalities. The article is prepared with funding from the EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 under Project Contract n° NFI/R/2014/014.