Commercialising Public Schooling: Practices of Profit-Making (Routledge Research in Education)

This book delves into the pervasive commercialisation of public schooling, tracing its roots and examining its current manifestations. From the evolution of textbook publishing to the digital transformation led by global edu-businesses, it sheds light on how commercial interests have reshaped education policy, curriculum design, and teaching practices worldwide.

Through a series of in-depth case studies this book explores the intensification of commercial influences in schools. It examines the historical rise of education corporatisation, the integration of commercial curriculum resources in classrooms and the ethical dilemmas posed by public school sponsorship. The work also analyses teachers' agency in navigating prescriptive curriculum materials, the impacts of EdTech during the pandemic, and addresses how public schools themselves have become market players, branding and monetising their operations. Drawing on Australian and international contexts, this book highlights the complex interplay between commercialisation, teacher professionalism, and equitable education access.

A must-read for educators, policymakers, and researchers, this book provides insights into the implications of school commercialisation. It offers practical strategies to navigate this landscape while advocating for reforms that prioritise educational integrity over profit, ensuring that public schools remain spaces of equitable and holistic learning.

Anna Hogan is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Her research interests focus on issues of marketisation, and how related concepts of privatisation, commercialisation, and philanthropy affect public schools and those in them.