View in EDS

The Play of Education and Market: A Literature Review on the Roles Commercial Actors Play for K-12 Education

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The Play of Education and Market: A Literature Review on the Roles Commercial Actors Play for K-12 Education
Language: English
Authors: Sukriti Verelst (ORCID 0000-0001-8129-0836), Maarten Simons, Mieke Berghmans
Source: Policy Futures in Education. 2025 23(1):106-126.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Information Analyses
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Descriptors: Literature Reviews, Elementary Secondary Education, Commercialization, School Business Relationship, Role
DOI: 10.1177/14782103241240238
ISSN: 1478-2103
Abstract: There has been an abundance of research on commercial actors in education. However, there has hardly been any attempt to streamline the existing ways of thinking about their presence and activity in the field of education. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to do a comprehensive literature review on the involvement of commercial actors in K-12 education. A total of 157 articles published between 2000 and 2023 were reviewed and "involvement of commercial actors in education" was operationalized as the roles they play in education. The research questions answered in this review were as follows: (i) What are the key perspectives that are addressed by researchers regarding the involvement of commercial actors in K-12 education? (ii) Which roles do commercial actors play in K-12 education and what are the issues being raised by researchers regarding each role? Three perspectives when it comes to research on involvement of commercial actors in education were identified: how commercial actors are changing the organization and functioning of K-12 education; how commercial actors are changing the organization and functioning of the education market; and the interaction between school actors and commercial actors. Under each perspective, various roles played by commercial actors were identified. The article demonstrated the multiplicity and diversity in the identified roles and also delved into the need to go beyond any reductionist understanding of commercial actors' involvement in education. The multiple roles outlined in this review show how commercial actors' involvement requires disentangling through novel approaches and how their inter-action with education creates the need to ask other important questions about the role of education itself and its key values and principles.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1455500
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1455500
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Play of Education and Market: A Literature Review on the Roles Commercial Actors Play for K-12 Education
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sukriti+Verelst%22">Sukriti Verelst</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8129-0836">0000-0001-8129-0836</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maarten+Simons%22">Maarten Simons</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mieke+Berghmans%22">Mieke Berghmans</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Policy+Futures+in+Education%22"><i>Policy Futures in Education</i></searchLink>. 2025 23(1):106-126.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 21
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Information Analyses<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Secondary+Education%22">Elementary Secondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literature+Reviews%22">Literature Reviews</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+Secondary+Education%22">Elementary Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Commercialization%22">Commercialization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Business+Relationship%22">School Business Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Role%22">Role</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1177/14782103241240238
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1478-2103
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: There has been an abundance of research on commercial actors in education. However, there has hardly been any attempt to streamline the existing ways of thinking about their presence and activity in the field of education. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to do a comprehensive literature review on the involvement of commercial actors in K-12 education. A total of 157 articles published between 2000 and 2023 were reviewed and "involvement of commercial actors in education" was operationalized as the roles they play in education. The research questions answered in this review were as follows: (i) What are the key perspectives that are addressed by researchers regarding the involvement of commercial actors in K-12 education? (ii) Which roles do commercial actors play in K-12 education and what are the issues being raised by researchers regarding each role? Three perspectives when it comes to research on involvement of commercial actors in education were identified: how commercial actors are changing the organization and functioning of K-12 education; how commercial actors are changing the organization and functioning of the education market; and the interaction between school actors and commercial actors. Under each perspective, various roles played by commercial actors were identified. The article demonstrated the multiplicity and diversity in the identified roles and also delved into the need to go beyond any reductionist understanding of commercial actors' involvement in education. The multiple roles outlined in this review show how commercial actors' involvement requires disentangling through novel approaches and how their inter-action with education creates the need to ask other important questions about the role of education itself and its key values and principles.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1455500
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1455500
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/14782103241240238
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 21
        StartPage: 106
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Literature Reviews
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Elementary Secondary Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Commercialization
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Business Relationship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Role
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Play of Education and Market: A Literature Review on the Roles Commercial Actors Play for K-12 Education
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sukriti Verelst
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Maarten Simons
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Mieke Berghmans
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1478-2103
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 23
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Policy Futures in Education
              Type: main
ResultId 1