The myth of community value: the enacted curriculum function in schools in rural communities in Spain
Beach, Dennis ; Vigo-Arrazola, Maria Begoña (Universidad de Zaragoza)
Resumen: Using meta-ethnographic synthesis, the present article asks if schools in rural areas fulfil an educational function in the interests of rural community sustainability. It identifies some positive features and causal mechanisms, but also some conditions that seem to be destructive towards this function. They appear to be due to decentralisation, school choice and market accountability (i.e. commodification) encouraging school leaders and teachers to select and teach content to enhance the performance of individual pupils on official examinations, and by this to attract and satisfy new school consumers, even if this may work against not in the interests of local populations and rural community sustainability. The research thus questions the common understanding expressed in research about schools in rural areas as institutions that form a ‘social glue’ in their communities. Market accountability undermines this. Despite different possible logic-of-action towards competitive pressures, and despite working in schools with very different positions on local education markets, the logical and predominant teaching response is for content selection and delivery to enhance individual performances and meet consumer ambitions for a school system that operates through the exchange of capital and can enable an escape from local communities.
Idioma: Inglés
DOI: 10.1080/20004508.2025.2518678
Año: 2025
Publicado en: Education Inquiry (2025), [19 pp.]
ISSN: 2000-4508
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN PID2020-112880RB-I00
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/EDU2012-32657
Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)
Área (Departamento): Área Didáctica y Organiz. Esc. (Dpto. Ciencias de la Educación)
You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
Exportado de SIDERAL (2025-10-17-14:14:53)
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Idioma: Inglés
DOI: 10.1080/20004508.2025.2518678
Año: 2025
Publicado en: Education Inquiry (2025), [19 pp.]
ISSN: 2000-4508
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN PID2020-112880RB-I00
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/EDU2012-32657
Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)
Área (Departamento): Área Didáctica y Organiz. Esc. (Dpto. Ciencias de la Educación)
You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. Exportado de SIDERAL (2025-10-17-14:14:53)
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Record created 2025-07-02, last modified 2025-10-17