An economic analysis on optimal school size

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03697
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Public finance/Public economy
• Research Institution: Komazawa University (2018); Niigata University (2016-2017)
• Principal Investigator: Hojo Masakazu 駒澤大学, 経済学部, 教授 (30362601)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 学校規模 / 学力 / 教員の就業環境

Outline of Final Research Achievements

(1) We examined the relationship between school size and student's academic achievement, non-cognitive ability, and problematic behavior. Data are obtained from TIMSS 2011. It is shown that students in small schools performed slightly lower than those in larger schools, although the difference is not statistically significant. It is also shown that problematic behavior is fewer in small schools.
(2) We examined the relationship between school size and working conditions of teachers. Data are obtained from TALIS 2013. It is shown that total working hours of teachers are shorter in small schools than in large schools. In addition, teachers in small schools spend less hour at extracurricular activity such as athletic/cultural club activity.

Free Research Field

教育経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

長時間労働など学校教員の労働環境改善が政策的な課題として認識される中で，学校規模と教員の就業環境，生徒の学習到達度，非認知能力，問題行動の関連性について包括的な実証研究をおこない，学校規模と教員の就業環境の間に一定の関係性を見出すことができた点は社会的にも政策的にも意義が大きいと考えられる。また，本研究の成果は，生徒・教員の両観点から適正な学校規模を検討するうえで有益な情報を与えうるものである。