TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding policy
T2 - Why health education policy is important and why it does not appear to work
AU - Evans, John
AU - Davies, Brian
AU - Rich, Emma
AU - De Pian, Laura
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Drawing on research investigating the impact of health imperatives around obesity, diet and exercise on the actions of teachers and pupils in schools, this paper offers a reflexive account of the relationships between the ‘noise’ of obesity discourse in the public domain, policies forged to tackle health issues and the realities of teaching in schools. Our analyses suggest that intersections of bio-policies, body pedagogies and human agents forge assemblages of meaning that frame and regulate but cannot determine either teachers’ or young people’s lives. Teachers and pupils experience the capriciousness of policies as they flow through specific school contexts and intersect with ‘local’ institutional cultures, expectations and interests. We suggest that Basil Bernstein’s concepts and poststructural social theory prove useful when addressing how the aforementioned processes are emplaced, enacted and embodied.
AB - Drawing on research investigating the impact of health imperatives around obesity, diet and exercise on the actions of teachers and pupils in schools, this paper offers a reflexive account of the relationships between the ‘noise’ of obesity discourse in the public domain, policies forged to tackle health issues and the realities of teaching in schools. Our analyses suggest that intersections of bio-policies, body pedagogies and human agents forge assemblages of meaning that frame and regulate but cannot determine either teachers’ or young people’s lives. Teachers and pupils experience the capriciousness of policies as they flow through specific school contexts and intersect with ‘local’ institutional cultures, expectations and interests. We suggest that Basil Bernstein’s concepts and poststructural social theory prove useful when addressing how the aforementioned processes are emplaced, enacted and embodied.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84876568371&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2011.647679
U2 - 10.1080/01411926.2011.647679
DO - 10.1080/01411926.2011.647679
M3 - Article
SN - 0141-1926
VL - 39
SP - 320
EP - 337
JO - British Educational Research Journal
JF - British Educational Research Journal
IS - 2
ER -