Book 2025

Commercialising Public Schooling: Practices of Profit-Making

Commercialising Public Schooling: Practices of Profit-Making
Journal · pp. 1-138
Abstract

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. © 2025 Anna Hogan.

Keywords

Author Keywords

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Index Keywords

Teaching Teachers' Curricula Engineering education 'current Curricula design Public schools Digital transformation Education policies Business-IT Commercialisation Curriculum teachings Profit making
Author Affiliations
School of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
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3 Arantes, Janine Aldous, Educational data advocates: emerging forms of teacher agency in postdigital classrooms, Learning, Media and Technology, 48, 3, pp. 493-513, (2023)
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5 Hidden Privatisation in Public Education, (2008)
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7 Behavioral Science, (1956)
8 Berends, Mark, Sociology and School Choice: What We Know after Two Decades of Charter Schools, Annual Review of Sociology, 41, pp. 159-180, (2015)
9 Personalized Learning and the Digital Privatization of Curriculum and Teaching, (2019)
10 Boyles, Deron R., Schools or markets?: Commercialism, privatization, and school-business partnerships, Schools or Markets?: Commercialism, Privatization, and School-Business Partnerships, pp. 1-253, (2004)
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