School Closure and Consolidation Policy: Reshaping Grassroots Education in China Amid Demographic Challenges - a Case Study of County the Pearl River Delta

This book investigates the implementation of school closure and consolidation policies in Chinese primary education. This book investigates the implementation of school closure and consolidation policies in Chinese primary education. As a major reform initiative, this policy seeks to optimize the allocation of educational resources and improve overall educational quality. In the context of declining birth rates and rapid urbanization, school closure and consolidation have emerged as a practical response to the growing challenges facing rural education. Based on an in-depth case study of Qing County in the Pearl River Delta, this book examines multiple models of consolidation—including complete consolidation, grade-specific consolidation, and deferred consolidation—as well as the function of receiving schools that absorb students from closed or consolidated institutions. Drawing on interviews and participant observation, it analyzes the policy’s effects on resource distribution and educational quality in the post-consolidation period. Aimed at policymakers, educators, and scholars, this book offers valuable insights into the transformation of rural education in China and carries implications for comparable educational reforms in other contexts.