188 8 School Mapping and Boarding in the Context ...
adjustment to a new environment and the additional burdens on households. It
appears that rates of over age enrolment may have increased as a result of con-
solidation. Children may enter school later when their parents judge they are old
enough to travel. School transfers relate in grade slippage. And learning problems
may result in low levels of achievement and repetition.
Sixth, average school size has increased and so has the size of teaching groups.
This was intended but may have become excessive. Thus for example in Majuqiao
central primary schools, the average class size was 35–40 during 2003–2007 and
this was generally bigger than the town average level. The class size in Huaziping
central primary school increased dramatically from 25 to 30 at the beginning of
the 2000s to between 60 and 70 by 2009. Yanhewan central primary school’s class
size was 42 by the 2009 school year. The overall class size in Zhaojue was 58 in
2007 and the Bier central primary school was operating at an average of 68 stu-
dents in each class. The reforms were intended to reduce the numbers of small
classes and they appear to have succeeded in doing this. There has been little
research on the extent to which they have resulted in over size classes in urban and
rural areas as a result of school mergers.
Seventh, the reforms have created new challenges for teachers. Salary levels of
teachers have not changed as a result of the reforms and this may be affecting the
stability, motivation, and quality of teachers. A Central China Normal University
research team has identified how large class size has caused an increase in work-
loads. Over 50 % of mid-level leaders, 57 % of faculty members and 57 % of
supporting staff thought their working load had become heavier after the consoli-
dation (Guo 2008 ).
Teachers roles have been changing with new responsibilities for class coun-
seling and life tutoring in a changing context. Schools expect teachers to take on
pastoral care roles for students emotional development and organize recreational
activities. The Ansai government has adopted a “fixed point and location” princi-
ple which means that teachers should take responsibility for students’ study and
daily life and be on duty to check the dormitories. The new accountability stand-
ards and role expectations require more contributions from teachers.
8.7 Conclusions and Recommendations
8.7.1 Shifts of Policy
The central government realizes the issues that have emerged in the school
merger process that mainly stresses efficiency aspects in the context of the
decrease of school age children. In 2006, the MoE issued “The Notification on
Feasibly Solving the Problem of Children going to School far away in the Area
of Inconvenient Transport” and in the same year also issued “The Notification of
Properly Doing the Work of School Layout Adjustment in a Practical and Realistic
Way”, stressing that the adjustment must be carried out on the condition that