Economies of scale, school violence and the optimal size of schools

Abstract

This article argues that policy in relation to education has relied too extensively on the more easily measured costs of production to support a common conclusion of economies of scale in school and/or district size. It argues that there are external costs that increase with size but that can be measured less easily that offset this case. This would imply that the tendency within the education profession to advocate ever-larger school sizes is premature at best. To make the case, it models the choice of school size to emphasize that costs, such as school violence, born by both students and their parents but not (necessarily) by education administrators may result in school sizes that are too big from the perspective of school users. The second and third parts of the article introduces evidence to suggest that school violence is one of these external costs.

Demographic, Psychological, and School Environment Correlates of Bullying Victimization and School Hassles in Rural Youth

“…School size may be an important factor in the frequency of bullying victimization, and, generally, students felt less safe in larger schools [49]. Some studies have suggested that larger schools have higher levels of violence [50], crime [51], and vandalism [52]. Perhaps these findings can be explained by the fact that increasing school size was related to decreasing student attachment to school, teachers, and extracurricular activities [53].…”

School Size and Youth Violence: Potential Mediating and Moderating Role of School Connectedness

“…Some studies have also found school connectedness to be inversely related to school size (Crosnoe, Johnson, & Elder, 2004;Kearney, 2008;McNeely et al, 2002;Thompson et al, 2006). Similar to school connectedness, some of the more recent literature on school size and violence has shown larger school size associated with higher rates of youth violence (Ferris & West, 2004;Kaiser, 2005;Leung & Ferris, 2008).Although sparse, some of the more recent literature on school size has indicated that as school size increases so do rates of youth violence. Some researchers (see Cotton, 1996aCotton, , 1996b have shown that behavioral and delinquency problems are more prevalent in larger schools.…”

“…One particular variable, school size, has also been linked to youth violence. Some research has shown that incidents of youth violence are associated with increasing school size (e.g., Ferris & West, 2004;Kaiser, 2005;Leung & Ferris, 2008). However, empirical research is relatively sparse on the relationship between school size and youth violence, and especially between school size and school connectedness.…”

“…Although there is no consensus, a few researchers have found that once schools reach above 1,000 students enrolled there appears to be a dramatic increase in youth violence (Ferris & West, 2004;Kaiser, 2005). Others educators have advocated for a range of 400 to 800 (Galletti, 1999) or 600-900 (Ready et al, 2004), whereas, others have advocated for no more than 150-200 students per grade level (Kaiser, 2005).…”

“…Three other studies also examined school size and youth violence, in terms of aggressive and fatal outcomes. Ferris and West (2004) approached this concern with an economic perspective through considering the external costs of school violence. They found that once schools reached an enrollment of 1000 or more students, there was a dramatic increase in serious violent incidents (e.g., from physical altercations to use of guns/knives).…”