Economic wellbeing: Critical reflections upon policy and practice in English primary schools

Abstract

Economic wellbeing has become a collective term used by British governments to signal their concern for levels of materiality where there is childhood poverty; for the need to prepare pupils for employment by teaching them relevant competences and appropriate attitudes; and for the necessity to develop skills for ‘personal financial capability’ in a context where the state’s role diminishes. The paper examines the substance of interviews with 10 English primary school headteachers about their provision for economic wellbeing, reflects upon the tensions and ideological preferences with which they currently have to work, and contemplates the dearth of critical reflection with pupils upon ‘economic alternatives’.

Keywords:

• employment
• materiality
• economics education
• headteachers