An audit of commercialisation and outsourcing across the primary school curriculum

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing on a qualitative case study of a New Zealand primary school, this paper provides an audit of commercialisation and outsourcing across the curriculum. Interviews were also conducted with teachers of specific Key Learning Areas (KLAs) to better understand their decision-making process in bringing externally provided products and services into their classrooms. Findings demonstrate that the procurement of external products and services is common across the curriculum. Teacher decision-making to commercialise and outsource curriculum is based on a multiplicity of personal, distributed and situational factors. We suggest that teachers are aware of and seeking to balance autonomy and responsibility in their decision-making, but there is room to improve how teachers understand and engage with ethical considerations of commercial procurement, supplier quality and systemic issues of equity and access to these services by all schools and teachers.