The management of ‘emotional labour’ in the corporate re-imagining of primary education in England

Bates, A (2017) 'The management of ‘emotional labour’ in the corporate re-imagining of primary education in England.' International Studies in Sociology of Education, 26 (1). pp. 66-81. ISSN 0962-0214

Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2016.1175959

Abstract

The last 20 years has witnessed the spread of corporatism in education on a global scale. In England, this trend is characterised by new structural and cultural approaches to education found in the ‘academies’ programme and the adoption of private sector management styles. The corporate re-imagining of schools has also led to the introduction into the curriculum of particular forms of character education aimed at managing the ‘emotional labour’ of children. This paper argues that character education rests on a fallacy that the development of desirable character traits in children can be engineered by mimicking certain behaviours from the adult world. The weaknesses in the corporate approach to managing ‘emotional labour’ are illustrated with empirical data from two primary schools. An alternative paradigm is presented which locates the ‘emotional labour’ of children within a ‘holding environment’ that places children’s well-being at its core.

Item Type: Article
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A non-final version of this article is available at the URL below.

Keywords: emotional labour, corporatisation, emotional capitalism, Nussbaum, well-being
Divisions: School of Education
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2016.1175959
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Date Deposited: 09 Aug 2021 19:16
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:56
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/14239
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