Open AccessCommercial School-Business Relationships in New Zealand
Author(s) -
David Stuart
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
new zealand annual review of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1178-3311
pISSN - 1171-3283
DOI - 10.26686/nzaroe.v0i15.1501
Subject(s) - commodification , entertainment , context (archaeology) , curriculum , globalization , capitalism , sociology , consumption (sociology) , public relations , marketing , political science , social science , business , pedagogy , economy , economics , geography , archaeology , politics , law
This article explores contemporary commercial school-business relationships in New Zealand schools, in a context of intensifying of child-business relationships, and in particular the blurring of once clear boundaries between children’s learning, their entertainment experiences, and the commercial efforts of corporate marketing and public relations. These child-business relationships in turn arise through contemporary consumer capitalism, and three problematic features of this economy are considered: inequality, commodification and globalisation. The last part of the article considers how schools are currently managing their commercial school-business relationships, with a particular emphasis on classroom teachers, and curriculum-related materials and programmes. It is suggested that schools are responding to children who are different because of their changing social status through consumption. However, in terms of school-business relationships, this response has yet to extend beyond using commercialised popular culture to motivate and engage, into a more critical examination of these relationships and of commercial culture generally.