"Student health for sale": An international perspective on the privatization of school health

Abstract

This paper interrogates recent global developments in education policy-making, that of privatization and industry involvement in the construction and implementation of school health initiatives. Presented against the backdrop of broader historical, political, and economic trends in various international policy contexts, partnerships between private, public, and voluntary sector groups can be understood alongside the changing dynamics of the state and the diminishing role of the public sphere and social welfare agendas. We attribute these changes to the neoliberal turn in social policy and growing connections between public institutions, political figures and corporations. By drawing on various examples of corporate-influenced health initiatives in schools, we demonstrate the potential undermining of authentic, professionally-inspired pedagogy and the democratic mission of schools.