182 8 School Mapping and Boarding in the Context ...
according to the norms. The toilets were communal. It is clear that living in such a
sparse environment with limited contact with parents is a challenge, especially for
the younger children.
Interviews established that there were thought to be several adverse impacts on
children of such accommodation arrangements. First there is concern that family
relationships were strained by the fact that boarders could only go home on week-
ends, and, in some cases, when parents do not find time to visit the school. Young
children may be homesick and miss the support parents can provide with conse-
quences for their physical and emotional development.
Second, boarding socializes children into self sufficiency and an adult world
and may deprive children of their childhood prematurely. Living independently in
school means that the children have to take care of themselves, do daily chores,
learn to get along with peers, and learn without family support. This can be dif-
ficult for young children.
Third, living in school may lay a huge financial burden on rural families. Some
concerned parents chose to rent a house nearby to the school to take care of their
children. The rental fees drive up the expenses to the family and also constrain
opportunities for the parents to earn income. These can be substantial costs for
rural households.
Fourth, the impact on academic achievement is another problem that cannot be
ignored. Some research has found that school mergers can lead to academic per-
formance deteriorating for young children, especially for those below grade 4 (Liu
et al. 2010 ). Other research (Mo et al. 2012 ) has noted that where there were posi-
tive effects of attending larger schools after mergers these were compromised by
the negative effects of boarding on some students’ academic achievement. There
is a consensus that consideration should be given to setting a minimum age for
boarding and the length of periods of time between home visits.
8.5.2 Boarding School in Zhaojue County, Sichuan Province
Zhaojue in Sichuan has followed the same trajectory as Ansai in terms of school
consolidation. Before 2010 there were 49 boarding schools in Zhaojue county till
2010, including 40 primary, 6 junior secondary, 1 nine-year system and 2 com-
plete secondary. After the Opinion on the Implementation of a New Round School
Location Adjustment 38 of the schools were merged and 14 new schools were
established as a result. The Table 8.8 shows that the number of boarding schools
are increasing, and the number of boarders increased quite dramatically. After the
school mergers, primary boarders increased faster as many have to start boarding
from Grade1 while before most started boarding from grade 3 or 4.
The process conformed to Provincial regulations on School Standardization
and Management Measures for Compulsory Education in Boarding Schools in the
Minority Areas of Sichuan Province. The policy emphases norms for physical pro-
vision and standards of teaching quality and the need to satisfy the basic needs of
students and develop good living habits and hygiene practices.