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

Bates, Agnieszka ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5138-5623 (2016) 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

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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
Uncontrolled Keywords:	emotional labour,corporatisation,emotional capitalism,nussbaum,well-being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Research in Higher Education and Society
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Sep 2016 00:36
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2023 18:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/60138
DOI:	10.1080/09620214.2016.1175959

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