We're small enough to close but big enough to divide: The complexities of the Nova Scotia school review process

Abstract

Through interviews conducted in the fall of 2013 and winter of 2014, this paper presents a portrait of the various issues faced by community activists in fighting to keep their small rural schools open amidst constraints, most notably, provincial budget cuts and low enrolment numbers in rural areas. At the same time, school board members seeking to close small schools in rural areas faced their own sets of constraints. Participants were asked to discuss: their experiences in the small schools review process, their suggestions for policy design and implementation, and their notions around what small schools mean to rural sustainability and future economic development. Throughout these interviews, the participants from both contexts highlighted the struggles they faced during the review process and the impact of school closures on their children, their communities, and themselves. In addition to metrocentric (Green & Corbett, 2013) assumptions faced by the activists in the school review and closure process, there were additional issues concerning the configurations of people with different orientations as they attempted to participate in a democratic dialogue within the school closure process.