RURAL SCHOOLS IN BULGARIA: CULTURAL SPECIFICS IN A NATIONAL PICTURE

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26758/15.1.18

(1) South-West University Neofit Rilski, Sociology Department & Bulgarian Academy of Science, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology; email: vmilenkova@swu.bg

(2) South-West University Neofit Rilski, Sociology Department; email: vlendzhova@swu.bg

(3) (4) (5) Bulgarian Academy of Science, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology; email: manolova@abv.bg; chengelova@gmail.com; sewnid@abv.bg

Address correspondence to: Valentina Milenkova, Sociology Department of South-West University Neofit Rilski, Ivan Mihaylov, 66 Str. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Ph: +359 73 88 55 05; Email: vmilenkova@swu.bg

Abstract

Objectives: The article objectives are studying some of the ongoing transformations in the Bulgarian education with an emphasis on the rural context. The analysis outlines a general picture of the rural education in Bulgaria, referring to the declining number of schools, teachers and students, as well as discussing the phenomena of “small classes” and “co-classrooms”, leading to restructuring of rural school education, related to a change in the methods of teaching and training students.

Materials and methods: The methods used in the analysis include document analysis, interviews with the teachers and the headmasters as participants in the educational process and a focus group with parents. The article is a secondary analysis of a field research conducted in 2016. The secondary analysis was made within the project “Quality of life and well-being in the context of the professional communities and their activity” КП-06-ПН80/2, funded by National Science Fund.

Results: The main results of the article are aimed at evaluating the measures taken in formal education as specific responses to the decreasing number of students. Different perspectives of teachers and parents are shown in order to emphasize the views of the main actors in the rural school and their attitude towards the phenomenon of “co-classrooms”.

Conclusions: The conclusion states that the implementation of unpopular decisions is aimed at preserving the quality of education and its effectiveness. It is emphasized that solutions and approaches are sought to preserve rural schools and maintain people’s educational values.

Keywords: rural schools, school closure, small classes, “co-classrooms”, Bulgarian rural education

Suggested citation (APA)

Milenkova, V., Lendzhova, V., Nakova, A., Chengelova, E., & Koicheva, Y. (2025). Rural schools in Bulgaria: Cultural specifics in a national picture. Anthropological Researches and Studies, 15, 272-284. https://doi.org/10.26758/15.1.18

Introduction

Education is related to the culture and everyday life of people, as well as to the transmission of the knowledge aimed at various aspects of human activity – profession, civic position, family and values. In addition, the education always takes place in specific conditions and has a national, regional and community character (Milenkova & Kovacheva, 2020). This means that often, the educational realities in the rural and urban conditions, although developing in a unified regulatory framework, are different because they reflect the specifics of infrastructure, the peculiarities of work and life of the population, etc. Furthermore, in conditions of postmodernity, we must also take into account the fact that not a small part of the people in the cities for various reasons go back to the rural areas. These are intellectuals, artists, and people who have lost their jobs in the cities, and who find new social opportunities when they return to the rural areas. In this regard, the educational structures in rural settings become particularly important, including the maintenance of the existing rural schools, as well as the creation of opportunities for the adults’ education. Rural schools in Bulgaria play a distinct and critical role within the national education system, tackling challenges that arise from the intersection of socio-economic inequalities and the cultural diversity. These schools must handle the complexities of regional poverty, the limited infrastructure, and the preservation of the local traditions, all of which significantly impact the educational experiences of rural students. Understanding these dynamics is essential for addressing the broader disparities in the educational access and outcomes between rural and urban regions in Bulgaria. The cross-sectorial collaboration among public services, local organizations, and educational institutions is vital in overcoming these barriers and ensuring more equitable access to a quality education for the rural students (Vieira & Simões, 2021; Simões & Vieira, 2023). The barriers they face include poor transportation, making it difficult to access the schools and to the job training centers, as well as the limited availability of the digital tools necessary for the modern education and the professional development (Marzana et al, 2023). Therefore, when we talk about education in the rural conditions, we must take into account the specific conditions of the environment itself, as well as the peculiarities of the ongoing learning. The learning experience itself should consider it as a two-way interaction in which the trainees’ motives are significant because they relate to the range of goals and values they bring to the educational interaction, but the teachers are also important. The teachers need to improve their qualifications and even themselves, searching for ways to innovate their teaching practices (Lendzhova et al. 2024).

This article’s objective is to illustrate some of the ongoing transformations in the Bulgarian education, with a focus on the rural setting. The article aims to map a generalized picture of the rural education in Bulgaria, referring to the decreasing number of schools, teachers, and students, as well as the figure of “the small age classes”, which emerged in the rural educational context. Other specific details of the article were related to the phenomena known as “co-classrooms”, together with the conducted teaching and learning practices, as well as some consequences resulting from the restructuring of training in rural schools. The main research question of the article is: to what extent the management measures taken in formal education as specific responses to the declining number of students are it adequate for the quality of the education and its effectiveness?

The empirical context of the article presents the case of the school in the village of Dobarsko as an example of a life story, which shows the changes that have occurred over the years in a Bulgarian rural school as well as narratives of some social actors who are participants in the institutional story. Our understanding is that “co-classrooms” represent a good solution for preserving the school environment, for maintaining a socio-psychological climate, especially in the elementary stage of education from 1 to 4 grades, when the students’ self-concept and their attitude to various life events are formed (Milenkova & Nakova, 2023).

In this sense, it may be said that the rural school is open to diverse forms and practices that may ensure the vitality of education, as well as meet the different expectations of stakeholders. Pedagogical practices may not always have the full approval of all participants, but they represent an attempt to preserve the rural school and to maintain the educational traditions of the rural environment. This may be viewed through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, which suggests that the educational systems are deeply shaped by the social conditions in which they exist, leading to the reproduction of cultural and social norms within the rural school context (Bourdieu, 1986). Additionally, the idea of cultural capital is relevant, as the rural school reflects and preserves the community’s values and traditions, which are integral to maintaining the social fabric of the rural environment. From a structural-functional perspective (Parsons, 1951), the rural school plays a crucial role in maintaining the social equilibrium by adapting the educational practices to the needs of the rural community, even if this adaptation does not align perfectly with all stakeholders’ preferences. The school becomes a site where different forms of social interaction are negotiated, reflecting broader community dynamics.

Material and Methods

The authors’ research work was conducted in 2016 and is primarily based on qualitative methods:

–  The document analysis: through this method, information was collected from various sources: historical, statistical, political and normative, which are related to the past and the present of the studied phenomena. It was necessary to study various historical documents relating to the past of the village of Dobarsko, which was established as early as the 11th century. Another important aspect of the document research was related to the school from the village, which was abandoned through various stages of flourishing and development until it has reached the present day and its closure. This historical information created the necessary cultural contextualization of the analysis as a settlement and even the institution’story. In this context, Maurice Halbwachs’ concept of the collective memory (1980) was instrumental in understanding how these institutions may contribute to maintaining the community’s shared history and identity. Collective memory refers to the way that the groups recall their common past, which plays a central role in sustaining the cultural and the social coherence of the community (Halbwachs, 1980). In both methods – the cultural analysis of Dobarsko’s rural story and the school’s institutional story, we relied on showing the important stages through which the village, as well as the school, has evoluated in their development, which, at the same time are essential for maintaining the collective memory of the people (Halbwachs, 1980). Any story about an institution is a specific research method through which the important stages in the development of an institution are reconstructed. This research method helped reconstruct the important phases in the development of the institution, and it is closely related to the concept of institutional memory (Zerubavel, 1999) and the ways of maintaining it. Institutional memory refers to how organizations retain and transmit knowledge of their own history and the events that have shaped their trajectory. In addition, understanding the historical trajectory of the school, alongside with the relevant education policy documents, norms, and regulations (Giddens, 1984), was essential in this study. Giddens’ structuration theory provides a useful framework for understanding how these normative structures shaped the educational practices themselves, by referring to the rules for structuring the classes in the modern Bulgarian school, regulations, and requirements in formal education, affecting specific teaching practices and formal procedures.

In the fieldwork of the case study, the main methods were:

– Interview: the goal was to receive a detailed narrative from the actor on a specific topic and obtain a variety of information through a series of questions that guide the narrative. The interview method aligns with grounded theory approaches (Charmaz, 2006), which seek to build theory based on data emerging from participants’ lived experiences. Interviews were conducted with the principal of the school and the teacher of the children from the “co-classrooms”.

– Focus group with parents of children educated in “co-classrooms”. The conducted focus group includes 5 parents and recreates the point of view of the parents whose children study in the rural school in the village of Dobarsko. Parents shared their views on group learning, as well as the positive and negative sides of this type of learning.

Results

Document analysis

The results are presented in two parts. The first part includes the results obtained from a study of various documents: statistical data, researches and analyses of the rural sociology and of the pedagogical analyses, political documents, and normative regulations of the formal education. They refer to delineating the political and the structural framework in which the rural school develops. The statistical data present the general picture of education, in which rural schools and the processes of their closure show a series of dysfunctionalities in the development of the Bulgarian education. In its second part, the presentation of the results refers to the specific empirical evidence obtained from the fieldwork in the village of Dobarsko and the processes in the school.

In recent years, the Bulgarian education system has faced a regrettable demographic collapse, and many schools have been closed due to a lack of students. This process has traditionally been accompanied by some negative public attitudes. The closure and the transformation of the rural schools lead to variable serious social consequences, which are reflected in the dropping out of children of compulsory school age for various reasons. In cases where a village school is closed, children are transported to the nearest central school, but this is associated with inconvenience due to travel, fatigue from the all-day stay, and lack of funds in families. From 1991 to 2022, 1435 schools have been closed in Bulgaria, of which 630 are elementary schools, 776 are primary schools, and 29 are secondary schools. In comparison, during the same period, students in the school network decreased from 1,366,927 to 708,628 or even to 658,299 students (Lendzhova & Milanov, 2022).

The main reason for the closure of schools is the deepening of the demographic changes (Simões, Meneses, Luis & Drumonde, 2017), as well as the de-population of some areas. From 2011 to 2021, youth population (25-29 years) continuously declined in Bulgaria, including in rural areas.

The closure of schools, described as “optimization of the school network,” is based on the initiative of municipalities, for which they receive financial aid from the state. Historically, not a small part of rural schools was created as a result of the educational policy of the Ministry of Education from the first decades of the 20th century, with a tendency towards a widely available mass education. It is known how the rural population constructs the school buildings with the joint efforts of all people and how they collected money for the salary of the teachers. Each village had a temple, and a school attached to the temple. The overall picture of educational institutions in Bulgaria from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century shows that the population is pre-dominantly rural, with a little tradition in the field of education and even if the maintenance of those schools proved to be an expensive undertaking, when great efforts were made.

Gradually, once with the projects of urbanization (1960-1970), started the processes of migration, which directed many rural families of active working age to the cities. The process of closing rural schools began in the early 1990s, and during the years of the new century, this process acquired a mass character.

The depopulation of villages is related to the lack of policy towards the rural areas by the transition of governments, it is a result of the lack of foresight and vision, which led to the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians of the active working age outside the country. The depopulation of the regions leads to differences in the socioeconomic profile, the infrastructure and the provision of equal access to quality education for students in individual municipalities and regions. One of the possible solutions preventing the closure of the schools is the small classes and “co-classrooms” – which are a concrete formal educational practice aimed at preserving the opportunity for children to study at a nearby school in the village and neighbourhood and not to be transported to another school for study.

Small classes and “co-classrooms”

An extensive overview of education systems in countries around the world shows the existence of small classes and “co-classrooms”, especially in demographically and geographically disadvantaged areas, sparsely populated areas, isolated and difficult to access. The organization of this type of classes is imposed by the small number of the school population but, at the same time, by the intention to give all children access to education. In most cases, this type of education is the only educational opportunity in these areas (Ronksley-Pavia, Barton & Pendergast, 2019). Student-centred in this context means a “focus on designing learning experiences that recognise and respond to the individual needs of each student” (Harris, Spina, Enrich & Smeed, 2013). For the most part, the small classes and “co-classrooms” often form part of the larger mono-grade schools, which are run mainly by the government (Cornish, 2010). “Co-classrooms” teaching or so called “multi-age teaching” is a strategy which enables schools to continue to serve their function in educating the local community when student enrolments are too low to support one or two teachers per grade level (Cornish, 2010). Small classes and “co-classrooms” occupy an unique place in the Bulgarian education. From a legal point of view, the topic of “co-classrooms” is discussed in Appendix No 7 to art. 53 of the Ordinance on the financing of institutions in the system of pre-school and school education in Bulgarian conditions (Marinkova-Yordanova, 2020). Due to the annual decrease in the number of students and, accordingly, the number of independent classes in mainstream schools, the opportunities for bringing together students from different classes (combining, merging) to conduct joint learning activities are optimized (Delibaltova, 2018).

Today, in many settlements in Bulgaria, “co-classrooms” are the only school education. It offers real opportunities to ensure access to learning for all children and improve teaching and studying in different learning settings, especially in small, dispersed, remote and underdeveloped rural areas where geographical and socio-economic conditions limit the provision of sufficient educational services. This type of training aims not only to ensure that the student enrolment and continuous attendance in a school environment but also to provide a high-level of knowledge and upbringing. It also plays an important role in the social development of children. Schools that offer training in “co-classrooms” have potential and play an essential role in the rural areas, in order to initiate good teaching practices, useful and applicable in the educational system (Gospodinov, 2016). Teachers in “co-classrooms” try to be effective in their work by teaching students of different ages and abilities at the same time, with different educational levels and needs in the same classroom. One of the challenges that teachers face is to have students from different ethnic backgrounds many of which do not know Bulgarian which hinders the learning process. This trend is strongly expressed in rural schools, where most of the ethnic population lives (62.4% of Turkish and 44.6% of Roma ethnicity).

Various training and social problems are the cause of inequality in the educational development and limit the chances of children coming from small settlements for competitive realization in the labour market. Since “co-classrooms” are part of the modern educational situation and their number is constantly increasing, the problem should rather be aimed at considering their social significance and improving the effectiveness of work in them, rather than whether they should exist. Although the “co-classrooms” are distinguished by their specific conditions for conducting the training, they are expected to accomplish the same tasks and to master the same curriculum content in the respective subjects, which takes place in mainstream schools. The success of educational activity depends mainly on the teacher’s ability to use teaching time rationally. Hence the main difficulty, namely that the teacher must teach two or more study subjects at the same time, following the respective curriculum. It is necessary to allocate time between different classes, combining various forms of organization and training methods. This requires good preparation and planning of the lesson, which in turn leads to successful and effective teaching (Gospodinov, 2016).

The presented analysis results showed several important things:

– The closure of the rural schools is part of the policy of optimizing the school network, which is a consequence of the decrease in the number of children of compulsory school age and, in general, the decrease in the country’s population.

– Introduction in the formal education of the small classes and “co-classrooms”, as a measure to preserve the rural schools with a reduced number of students, would provide a more favourable environment for the socialization of students, a friendly environment for children and a more successful inclusive program.

– The presence of a school in the village is a chance to preserve and maintain the rural life, as well as for the young families a motivation to stay in the rural areas. In addition, the small classes create prerequisites for greater interactivity, in-formal surroundings and maintaining a higher degree of interaction and support between teachers and children. These are the strengths that motivate the small classes and “co-classrooms”. At the same time, there are also many critical voices related to the fact that such training does not favour quality learning and creates a number of obstacles within teaching and learning. All this shows that the introduction of solutions in the formal education does not always proceed without conflict and often meets the critical point of view and discussion.

The second part of the analysis presents the results of a field author’s study conducted in 2016 in the village of Dobarsko. Before outlining the state of the rural school, we will dwell briefly on the village itself, its history and traditions, which become the background for unfolding the potential, as well as the prerequisite and environment for the educational activity. It is important to note how historically significant the efforts of the local people have been in establishing and maintaining the village’s school.

The Case of Dobarsko

The description of the history of the village is based on historical studies, that have been made by Tsinzov (Tsinzov, 2004) in his books about the village itself. The village of Dobarsko is one of the first villages founded by Slavic settlers in Razlog in the sixth century. This name, this Slavic definition of the valley has lasted over the centuries. In the 19th and early 20th century Dobarsko remained the poorest village in Razlog. In the late 1920s, it gradually began to develop. In 1928 a community center was founded, and the first “parties” were organized (Tsinzov, 2004). In 1932, a rural productive and consumer cooperative was established, providing work for the men in the forest. The more significant changes in the development of Dobarsko are from the second half of the century, from the decade of the fifties (1950s). The activity of the local community centre is significant. The appearance of the village has been renovated – in place of the old houses new brick houses are built, the streets are built and developed. The cooperative building with shops, the municipal building from the square and the village’s oven was built. From the mid-1960s, the migration from the village to the city began, which gradually led to the resettlement of many young people. The decrease in the birth rate and the small number of children and young people affect all processes. The decline was also observed in agriculture – the lands were abandoned, and the men from the village were attracted to work in the uranium mine in the village of Eleshnitsa. In the new century, after 2005, the permanently registered inhabitants were about 680 people (Tzinov, 2004). The current livelihood of the people is related to the work in the local carpentry workshops, in the construction as well as sewing workshops in the nearby villages and the municipal centre of Razlog. Dobarsko, as a renewed village, in recent years has been developed a rural ecotourism and built a small hotel in the former agricultural yard of the village. Over time, the village was increasingly visited, and the sacred places contributed to this: consecrated grounds, as well as the two churches: the “old” and the “new”, which are historical landmarks.

The school in Dobarsko: an institutional story

The institutional story is based on the idea that the past as a social construct is connected with the present, with its continuity and sustainability. The teacher Toncho Petrov in 1926 began the chronicle book of the school, as the main source of information were the stories of old people (Tzinov, 2004). The location of the school was between the two churches and it was established around 1855. The lower floor was a pub-municipal, and one room was used for training. It was not until 1894 the school was expanded and two more rooms were made upstairs. Since its inception, in the first years, the number of students has been about 30-40, starting classes with prayer (Tzinov, 2004). The first teacher to be remembered by the peasants (from the school year 1858/59) was Anania Nishkov. He taught around 40 children (Tzinov, 2004).

The school in these decades has the following characteristics: 1) small classes 2) serious support from the municipality, in the form of a building 3) parents’ support 4) the teacher has not only teaching duties but also deals with some other occupation. Gradually, since the last decade of the XIXth century, and especially in the first decade of the XXth century, it has become an increasingly common practice for teachers to be pedagogy educated and teaching becomes their only duty. In addition, the school in Dobarsko has been systematically evaluated by both the district school’s inspector and the district district’s doctor. Until the middle of the twentieth century, the school was primary – from first to the fourth grade. In most cases, during this period, the training is conducted in “co-classrooms”. The next important stage in the rural education was at the end of the 1930s. In 1939 and 1940 a new school building was built. The entire village was involved in the new construction. The new building became operational in the school year 1940/41 and the conditions for training became better. Over time, the interest in education increases, which also has purely pragmatic dimensions – higher social statuses require completed education. Therefore, towards the end of the thirties (1930s) and the beginning of the forties (1940s) of the 20th century, the desire of many parents and children to learn more increased. The autumn of 1960 proved to be key for education in Dobarsko because a new school building was built. The number of students and teachers has increased. Gradually, the opposite trend began: the number of students in the rural school decreased and in 1974 the junior high school was closed. Since the beginning of the third millennium, the school in Dobarsko has had three primary classes and two or three teachers. The classroom full of students remains only in the memories and in the black-and-white photographs of a few decades ago. What is the picture nowadays, how does the school, works and to what extent it has the potential to cope with the crisis for students: these are a few questions that were part of the fieldwork to which the next section is dedicated?

Fieldwork results

Interview with school headmistress

The aim of the interview was the classes to be followed up as well as how exactly the children are taught, if they interfere with each other, and how they answer at different activities – teaching lessons and assessments of students from different degrees. The following picture emerged in the headmistress’s story:

“This is one of the good schools, in terms of material conditions, from the region. Children only from a Bulgarian ethnic group are motivated, disciplined and there are no absentees, i.e. dropping out from education is not on the agenda here” (director of school, female, 43).

The director shared that there is a constant connection with the parents, as in this village everyone knows each other more than well – these are the characteristics of the community life when details are known about the life, descent, work, relatives, personal problems of the people of the village.

“Everyone realizes very clearly that the school is important and efforts are made to keep it, keep it in good condition and all the locals help in any way they can. That is, the tradition of the old Bulgarians, of the previous generations which is preserved in the actions of the present generations.” (director of school, female, 43).

Teachers work very intensive, aiming at creating a supportive environment for children. This is also related to their professional career, because when children move from rural schools to urban schools, teachers usually lose their jobs because the children fall below the minimum number. For that reason, they have motivation to show professionalism and passion in their work. The teachers are two, only the headmistress lives in the village itself and was born there, the teachers travel, but they are from nearby settlements, and they are young women, in the age group up to 40 years.

“The teachers are satisfied with the fact that they have a job because with the decreasing number of schools, finding a teaching place is becoming an increasingly serious problem. They are happy with the children, with the conditions in the school” (director of school, female, 43).

Classes go as follows: for example, in the classroom where I and IV grade study, some individual work is assigned to IV grade, for example, to solve mathematics or write grammar exercises. During this time, the teacher works with the first grade – teaching a lesson or testing. After that, the teacher starts working with the fourth grade, and the first grade works individually or in groups. Similarly, the training takes place in the other classroom, where there are children from the second and third grades. In this way, the individual work with explanations and guidance from the teacher alternate.

“Undoubtedly difficult and not very effective, because children are distracted by the explanations for the other class, the time in class is torn, and it cannot be fully used” (director of school, female, 43).

Of course, these organizational problems are well known in all cases of “co-classrooms” and are a reality in most other rural schools, where there are not enough children for a whole class. The children themselves have gone through the socialization of the compulsory preschool group in kindergarten, thus acquiring the basic habits and skills for school life.

Serious hopes are placed on the birth rate, on the fact that young people remain in the village.

Interview with teacher

The teacher shared that, in her opinion, the “co-classrooms” are a good solution to save the school.

“Children feel good. These are young children and they need to stay in their families. After finishing the morning education activities, they go home to their parents and then go back to school to continue the preparation for the next day. Thus, the school has activities with the children throughout the day. The children are with their peers, they study at school and what they did not understand in the lessons they catch up on “(teacher, female, 36).

The teacher shared that for her this job was also a decision in her career because she lives in the neighbouring village, travels a little and has an income. Special attention was paid to teaching and training in classes and how it is organized in undersized classes.

„In order for the work in the “co-classrooms” to be effective, it is necessary the time to be scheduled very carefully. I have worked with “co-classrooms” before, so I have experience and know how to organize my work with the children. For example, I give the fourth grade to write an exercise from the textbook on “Homeland study”, and we write letters with first grade. After that, the children from the fourth grade read what they have written in their notebooks, and I asked the first grade to write a few lines with the new letter we have taken. And since I have a total of 10 children in class, it’s not a problem to check at each one, to see how he/she is doing, to tell him/her what to do. In the afternoon activities we also continue to work with the children and if there are any difficulties with the learning material I explain to them. “(teacher, female, 36).

There was other question during the interviews related to the communication with parents and their assessment of the teaching process.

“With the parents of my current students, I have no problems. However, I’ve had cases when parents want that more attention to be given to their children, and they insist that I spend more time with them. “(teacher, female, 36).

She said that in order to retain young people in the village, they relied on the development of the rural tourism, related to the historiographical value of the old church in the village, as well as the ecological conditions, the beautiful nature, the picturesque environment and the clean air; all prerequisites for rural prosperity and ecotourism. In the interviews conducted there was a desire of the respondents to maintain a good level of training, and to show that even in the conditions of small classes children have an interest in learning, acquire knowledge, and achieve the learning goals. The presented point of view of the interviewees was provoked by the desire to keep their jobs and their professional careers as teachers, but also to be professionals and maintain the quality of training. This is also the reason why all participants in the educational process are so actively interested.

Focus group with parents

The focus group was conducted with 5 parents who had come to meet their children after the morning classes. The parents shared that they need to be able to be close to their children. They appreciated the opportunity to live in a village where the air, water, land, and food were ecological and clean. They were not afraid about the quality of the food they eat and were satisfied that their children live in such an ecological environment. At the same time, they thought that their children felt good because they were close to home, and at this age of children, it was better to be in the village school. Parents said that if the school has had to close, they would have to drive their children to the city school themselves, and that would take a lot of time.

“The rural school is a very good decision. Our children learn where they live, make friends and live in an ecological environment, which is very important for their health and peaceful psychological growth” (parent, female, 35).

„I understand that the education in the “co-classrooms” is not of high quality, but at home, I deal with my child and we learn together “(parent, female, 30)

„In my opinion, in the early school years, it is important that children are not overloaded with many academic duties. In addition, when they come to school and in the afternoon, they study extra and there are no failures “(parent, female, 27).

“Every day when my child comes home from school, we talk about the activities and what is being taught and what he has learned, and I am glad that he is learning different things.” (parent, female, 35)

„Maintaining a rural school may not be economically justified, but not everything should be measured only by the financial side. Children need to be calm and confident, to be healthy, and to breathe fresh air. Healthy children are an investment for the country itself “(parent, female, 36).

The focus during the discussion, where parents participated was the fact that their children remain in the rural school, which provides parents with the calmness that they do not travel to another school, are close to home and the connection with them is immediate. One of the parents shared that not every time the teaching process is systematic. Undoubtedly, the reason for this assessment is the division of time in classes between the two grades and study subjects that are taught together. Some parents believe that sometimes the quality of education is not good enough, but this is compensated in afternoon activities. According to other parents, teaching is in a good quality, children receive knowledge and make progress. In the course of the fieldwork, several main positions stood out: of the teachers and the director, i.e. the actors who practice the activities in small and “co-classrooms”, trying to combine the learning material for two grades. The second point of view was that of the parents who realize the fragility of the child’s psyche and the preservation of the school as an important learning factor. The research point of view – as a third position manifested by the researchers themselves. The first and second points of view had quite a few coincidences and common ground. The research point of view was related to the striving for objectivity and keeping a distance from bias towards the participants and the researched topic.

The conducted fieldwork showed that both teachers, principals and parents are satisfied with the rural school preservation. Parents believed that it is very important for children’s mental development to be close to home, and travelling and studying outside the village would create certain discomfort and difficulties for both children and parents. The children studied throughout the day and if they have difficulties, they were solved in the afternoon classes. In general, it can be summarized that at least in the primary school age, the rural school and the “co-classrooms” appear to be a good solution for all participants in the educational interaction: children, teachers, and parents.

In 2019, after nearly 160 years since its establishment, the primary school in the village of Dobarsko was closed. In 2019, only 13 children studied, and in 2020 year were not expected freshmen, then only 5 children remained, as the other 8 children went to a higher level and left the school. According to the mayor of the village, the main reason for the lack of children is the migration of parents and the search for work abroad. The fate of the school from Dobarsko is like that one of several other rural schools.                                                                             

Discussions

In the course of the analysis, we have presented different perspectives on small classes. The discussion may arguably be presented on several levels following Bronfenbrenner’s model (Bronfenbrenner, 1977):

– The macro level, which is related to the maintaining of the urban-rural balance and the homogeneous distribution of the population on the territory, i.e. the need for young people to live in the villages and to develop the rural infrastructure (Milenkova & Kovacheva, 2020).

On the other hand, at the political level, the topic is whether it is economically justified to have rural schools, given that children under the established minimum are educated in them. In this connection is the policy of optimizing the school network and closing the rural schools (BNTNEWS, 2019).

– The meso level, concerned with the villages themselves and the links between the institutions within them, as well as the maintenance of the local communities (Parreira do Amaral, Kovacheva & Rambla, 2019).

The rural schools closures mean that the already small number of young families with children head to cities or larger towns and migrate gradually. First, they enrol their children in schools in the cities, and then they gradually migrate to the cities and deepen the problems of the villages. “If we close the school, we close the village. We condemn it to a total depopulation. We need to think in perspective. We all rely on the revitalization of villages. We believe that in no more than 10 years the classrooms will be full. If we have already sold the buildings or they have collapsed, what are we going to do?” – said one of the mayors (BNTNEWS, 2019).

– The micro-level related to the point of view of families and parents, according to which the education in joint classes is not of a high quality, because the teachers have to teach two levels at the same time, the learning process is not focused enough, the children get distracted and they have difficulty in understanding the material, but, at the same time, the children are nearby, parents have a relationship with them, no travel is necessary. At this level a special place is given to the psychological confidence, the self-esteem, the formation of the self-concept in children of primary school age, when the proximity of parents and family support are of a great importance (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Zeigler-Hill, 2013; Aloia, 2020).  The micro-level point of view also includes another type of participants – the teachers. When the rural school is closed, the teachers lose their jobs, do not always find new jobs in the region in which they live in and this creates further complications and also for them.

The points of view presented are divergent because they reproduce the interests of different social actors and in this sense these are too significant. In general, despite hopes for a revival of interest in the Bulgarian village, the picture of the rural education is worrying due to the reduced share of children, teachers and schools in the rural conditions nowadays.

Conclusions

In the analysis of the rural school, we emphasized that the rural school has traditionally could be one of the most important symbols of the spiritual life. Moreover, historically, the village school has been a sign of elevation of the settlement, of openness and dignity. The historical examples of Dobarsko show how people have devoted their time, work, and funds to do a noble deed – expanding the building, paying teachers, and providing good conditions for learning. The perception of the education as important for children shows the value of education in social terms. Now, nearly a century later, the education continues to be considered a value, but the personal aspirations for education are not enough. The education needs to be invested, and a comprehensive vision of its management is needed, as well as taking into account the interests of the social actors. The formal educational policy “co-classrooms” is a good solution in the Bulgarian conditions, a practice that is applied in the rural environment (Delibaltova, 2016).

In the analysis of the rural school, we has emphasized that the rural school has traditionally proved to be one of the most important symbols of the spiritual life. Moreover, historically, the village school has been a sign of elevation of the settlement, of openness and dignity. The historical examples of Dobarsko show how people have devoted their time, work, and funds to do a noble deed – expanding the building, paying teachers, and providing good conditions for learning. The perception of education as important for children shows the value of education in social terms. Now, nearly a century later, the education continues to be considered a value, but personal aspirations for education are not enough. Education needs to be invested, and a comprehensive vision of its management is needed, as well as taking into account the interests of the social actors. The formal educational policy “co-classrooms” is a good solution in Bulgarian conditions, a practice which is applied in the rural environment (Delibaltova, 2016).

The results this paper has obtained from the empirical methods used showed that the rural school has its historical place and importance in the national plan (Tsinzov, 2004). Although the closure of the rural schools could be justified on a political macro level, teachers and parents preferred keeping the rural schools, even at the cost of compromises in terms of the quality of education. The quality of education in “co-classrooms” may be improved, and the full-time education is a good solution in this direction.

Overall, the fieldwork could be replicated as a part of the future research and projects, in the rural areas with an ethnically diverse population, to track the evaluations and perspectives of the parents, teachers, and principals on the phenomena under consideration. In this way, to trace whether time has affected the under-standing of the people directly affected in the educational process.

Acknowledgements

The article has been developed in the framework of the research project “Quality of life and well-being in the context of professional communities and their activity” КП-06-ПН80/2, funded by National Science Fund.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Consent to participate

Informed written consent was obtained from each participant at the time of recruitment. The subjects were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any stage, and they were assured of confidentiality.

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