<![CDATA[Demographic decline, population mobility, spatial inequality, school consolidation, and uneven educational accessibility complicate secondary school location management, particularly in regions undergoing urban–rural transformation. Previous studies have treated school allocation, spatial accessibility, demographic change, and educational governance as separate issues and therefore explain little about how these conditions become coordinated location decisions. This study develops a conceptual framework that explains how policy capacity, social and demographic conditions, and spatial accessibility interact with management processes to shape secondary school location decisions under urban–rural integration in Northeast China. The framework draws on an integrative synthesis of 24 substantive studies on school location, educational planning, spatial accessibility, school consolidation, demographic change, educational equity, and educational governance. The synthesis identified three determinant dimensions and linked them to four management functions: planning, organizing, implementation, and supervision. Policy capacity and spatial accessibility shape the effectiveness of location planning. Social and demographic conditions modify planning needs through population distribution, migration, student distribution, and educational demand. Organizing, implementation, and supervision translate planning decisions into service provision, while urban–rural integration acts as a contextual moderator. The model connects these processes to three intended outcomes: access, equity, and efficiency. The framework links spatial school-location research with the managerial processes that turn demographic, accessibility, and policy evidence into adaptive location decisions. It remains conceptual and has not been empirically validated. Future research should operationalize its constructs and test the proposed relationships with integrated spatial, demographic, and management data across contrasting urban–rural contexts.]]>
