This book investigates the implementation of school closure and consolidation policies in Chinese primary education. As a major reform initiative, this policy seeks to optimize the allocation of educational resources and improve overall educational quality. In the context of declining birth rates and rapid urbanization, school closure and consolidation have emerged as a practical response to the growing challenges facing rural education. Based on an in-depth case study of Qing County in the Pearl River Delta, this book examines multiple models of consolidation—including complete consolidation, grade-specific consolidation, and deferred consolidation—as well as the function of receiving schools that absorb students from closed or consolidated institutions. Drawing on interviews and participant observation, it analyzes the policy’s effects on resource distribution and educational quality in the post-consolidation period. Aimed at policymakers, educators, and scholars, this book offers valuable insights into the transformation of rural education in China and carries implications for comparable educational reforms in other contexts.

Dr. Di Lan is a researcher at Research Center for Language and Language Education of Central China Normal University. She specializes in rural education, focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by rural communities in educational development.

Dr. Yaguang Hao is a professor at Institute for China Rural Studies and National Governance Studies of Central China Normal University. His main research interests are public policy, village self-governance, water governance, and grassroots politics. He is a member of editorial board of the book series of “Rural China Studies” published by Social Sciences Academic Press China, and also a member of editorial board of the Chinese academic journal China Rural Research.