Doctor of Education / This case study looks at the impact of closing an urban secondary school. It considers the experiences of the students, the staff and the parents. It does not argue with the decision to close the school but concentrates on the experience for those most closely involved. The thesis is guided by the main research question which is: “What is the impact of school closure on the various elements of a school community and is there a way to close a school and minimise this impact?” Supplementary questions seek to describe how the closure was undertaken and what factors can be identified which helped ease the transition for those involved. While seeking to develop theory grounded in the research the findings have also been informed by theory associated with grief, place attachment, emotion in the workplace and change. Unpublished primary documents such as transcripts of group interviews, responses to written questionnaires and minutes of meetings are the basic sources of data for this thesis. The researcher was an active participant in the closure and well known to all respondents. The thesis concludes that although keeping the school open for the final year was of benefit to the morale and adjustment of staff it was probably less beneficial for the students involved. It suggests that with proper counselling support and identification of the closure as a critical incident, a quick closure would help student learning outcomes and prevent teacher de-skilling. It also confirms the importance of a school, or probably any institution, in the emotional life of those associated with it. Note: The students in this study range in age from 13 to 18 years of age in Years 7 through to 12.

Doctor of Education / This case study looks at the impact of closing an urban secondary school. It considers the experiences of the students, the staff and the parents. It does not argue with the decision to close the school but concentrates on the experience for those most closely involved. The thesis is guided by the main research question which is: “What is the impact of school closure on the various elements of a school community and is there a way to close a school and minimise this impact?” Supplementary questions seek to describe how the closure was undertaken and what factors can be identified which helped ease the transition for those involved. While seeking to develop theory grounded in the research the findings have also been informed by theory associated with grief, place attachment, emotion in the workplace and change. Unpublished primary documents such as transcripts of group interviews, responses to written questionnaires and minutes of meetings are the basic sources of data for this thesis. The researcher was an active participant in the closure and well known to all respondents. The thesis concludes that although keeping the school open for the final year was of benefit to the morale and adjustment of staff it was probably less beneficial for the students involved. It suggests that with proper counselling support and identification of the closure as a critical incident, a quick closure would help student learning outcomes and prevent teacher de-skilling. It also confirms the importance of a school, or probably any institution, in the emotional life of those associated with it. Note: The students in this study range in age from 13 to 18 years of age in Years 7 through to 12.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T16:28:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ivania.pdf: 4412341 bytes, checksum: 62620d1e7057bb86b705b2a4e688a98b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-03 / The research analyzed the closing process and closing attempts of schools in the field with the offer of the final years of Primary Education in the countryside in Itapejara D Oeste, Southwest region of Paraná State. The general objective was to analyze this process, as well as showing the resistances and challenges for school in the field. The specific objectives proposed were to identify the changes in the Brazilian countryside since 1950 and its determinations on the reduction of the rural population; contextualize and differentiate the concepts of rural education and field education on the national scene; understand the school closure processes in the rural area in the national and local context, describe the process of implementation and subsequent stop of offering final years/grades of Primary Education in the countryside from a closure and completion case and from a closing way case. From a qualitative approach in the perspective of historical-dialectical materialism, there was a case study, with the use of procedures semi structured interviews and documental analysis. It approached the changes occurred in the Brazilian countryside, due to the capitalism, as well as its effects that culminated in the reduction of rural population and consequently the reduction of enrollment of the schools in the countryside. It also addressed the rural education and rural school and, as a counterpoint, the Field Education in order to analyze the process of closing of these schools later on. The research showed that the offer of Primary Education in the countryside of Itapejara D Oeste both for early years as the final years was precarious and insufficient, proving the negligence of the authorities to the education of the rural population. The analysis of the implementation process, closing and attempts to the closing of the schools showed that the offer of the final years of Elementary School was not the result of a public policy designed in order to attend the country population, but the result of claims and mobilization of the communities, which in the same way resisted in face of attempts to close schools. The practice of closing schools was based in economic-quantitative justification, disregarding cultural aspects that are present in the issue of closing schools in the countryside. In short, the research reflects the great historical debt to the education of the countryside people, noting that it is not enough public educational policies. These should be linked to other public policies that guarantee better life expectancies in the country so that families want and can stay there. / A pesquisa analisou o processo de fechamento e tentativas de fechamento das escolas no campo de anos finais do Ensino Fundamental em Itapejara D Oeste, região Sudoeste do Paraná. O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi analisar esse processo para evidenciar seus determinantes gerais e específicos, bem como apontar as resistências e desafios para as escolas no campo. Como objetivos específicos, propôs-se a identificar as transformações no campo brasileiro a partir de 1950 e suas relações com a redução da população do campo; contextualizar e diferenciar as concepções de educação rural e de educação do campo no cenário nacional; compreender os processos de fechamento de escolas no campo no contexto nacional e no contexto local; descrever o processo de implantação e posterior cessação da oferta das séries/anos finais do Ensino Fundamental no campo a partir de um caso concluso de fechamento e de um em vias de fechamento. A pesquisa adotou uma abordagem qualitativa na perspectiva do materialismo histórico-dialético, como um estudo de caso, utilizando-se dos procedimentos entrevistas semiestruturadas e análise documental. Abordou as transformações ocorridas no campo brasileiro, por conta da expansão do capitalismo, bem como seus efeitos que culminaram na redução da população camponesa e consequentemente na redução das matrículas das escolas no campo. Enfocou a perspectiva da educação e escola rural e, como contraponto, a Educação do Campo, para posteriormente analisar o processo de fechamento dessas escolas. Evidenciou que a oferta do Ensino Fundamental no campo em Itapejara D Oeste, tanto em relação aos anos iniciais quanto aos anos finais, ocorreu de forma precária e insuficiente, o que comprovou o descaso dos poderes públicos com a educação da população do campo. A análise dos processos de implantação, fechamento e tentativas de fechamento das escolas evidenciou que a oferta dos anos finais do Ensino Fundamental não foi resultado de uma política pública para atender as populações no campo, mas sim resultado de reivindicações e mobilizações das comunidades, que da mesma forma resistiram diante das tentativas de fechamento das escolas. A prática de fechamento de escolas embasou-se em justificativas econômico-quantitativas, que desconsideraram aspectos culturais presentes no processo de fechamento das escolas. Em suma, a pesquisa traduz a grande dívida histórica com a educação dos povos do campo e destaca que não bastam políticas públicas educacionais. Estas devem estar atreladas a outras políticas públicas que garantam melhores expectativas de vida no campo para que as famílias queiram e possam permanecer no campo.