An Analysis of Educational Outcomes Based on Attendance at Small Schools: Focusing on JELS Data

This study examines the educational effects of policies supporting the maintenance of small schools in response to the declining school-age population. To this end, data from the 2018 Jeonnam Education Longitudinal Study (JELS 2018) were analyzed to evaluate the impact of Jeollanam-do’s support policy for schools with fewer than 60 students on educational achievement. The analysis of the effects of small school attendance on both cognitive and non-cognitive achievement among elementary students revealed that the impact on cognitive achievement was not statistically significant, regardless of the inclusion of control variables. However, regarding non-cognitive achievement, small school attendance significantly fostered positive relationships with teachers. Additionally, the interaction between small school attendance and private education expenditure was tested to evaluate small schools’ role in enhancing public education competitiveness. The results indicated that small schools contribute to mitigating educational disparities caused by private education. These findings were robust to the influence of omitted confounding variables, demonstrating that the policy of maintaining small schools has a positive impact on educational achievement.