Recently the students who went to elementary school have been decreased, while the classrooms have been increased, which leads classrooms to be empty in the rural and some urban areas. This raised the question that they should be used in other ways or...
Recently the students who went to elementary school have been decreased, while the classrooms have been increased, which leads classrooms to be empty in the rural and some urban areas. This raised the question that they should be used in other ways or remain empty. The closing of school was not limited to loss of educational facility, it also caused school, which played a role as a center in which people in the community had meetings, isolated from the traditional role.
The purpose of this study was to identify the possible reuses of closed schools and to collect data which could be used in new construction of school and help facilitate parents and population who lived in the area actively participate in the planning for the reuses of closed schools. For this purpose, the study investigated the condition of schools in the countries in terms of the number of students and classrooms, and investigated as to whether there was any surplus or affluence.
A questionnaire was delivered to the population, teachers, and the faculty who were related to the schools in lack of students or in surplus of schoolrooms to identify their possible reuses. Before this, proper number of student and classroom in each area consistent with 'provisions for the establishment and operation of schools below high school' and possible change of curriculum was checked. The results was as follows.
First, as for classroom, in order to use classrooms in other ways and have responses to the cases arose from the characteristics of rural area, existing uniformed type of one room should be broken down into several types: small(0.5 room), middle(one room), and large(two room).
Second, as for facility used for communication and relationship among students. there were restaurant, refectory, etc. These should not be as the ones which were only used by the students because they were often used by the population in the community when they had athletic meetings, prepared food for the feast in deference to the aged, etc.
Third, as for supporting facility for class, there were material room and management room (including counselling room, teacher's research room, teacher's meeting room). In case of material room, there was not any difference between the rural and the urban but both of them needed to have separate space for materials and instruments according to grade and curriculum.
Forth, the opening of school facilities to the public is important specially in the rural area. Therefore, the schools should open their facilities to the population to help them have various meetings such as athletic and cultural activities. On the other hand, they also take consideration into the aged and the disabled at the time.