The impacts of a school closure on neighbourhood social cohesion: narratives from Invercargill, New Zealand

We propose that, beyond their educational function, schools can serve as ca talysts for community participation, social cohesion and the vitality of ne ighbourhoods. The paper explores the impacts of a school closure on familie s in an urban neighbourhood in Invercargill, New Zealand. The highest urban depopulation rate in the country has had implications for the viability of Invercargill schools. We present a qualitative study of narratives gathere d during an interview-based study of the closure of Surrey Park School. Our analysis highlights the impact of school closure for low-income families a nd more generally reflects on the place of schools in contributing to socia l cohesion and the broadly defined health of a community. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.