The oil industry in our schools: from Petro Pete to science capital in the age of climate crisis

TitleThe oil industry in our schools: from Petro Pete to science capital in the age of climate crisis
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsTannock, Stuart
JournalEnvironmental Education Research
Volume26
Issue4
Pagination474-490
ISSN1350-4622, 1469-5871
AbstractFossil fuel corporations play a significant role in promoting their interests in schools and other educational institutions, a practice that has recently been labelled as ‘petro-pedagogy.’ But this role goes beyond the production of the pro-petroleum and anti-science corporate propaganda that tends to attract the most critical attention. In this article, I present a case study of the involvement of BP, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel corporations, in primary and secondary education in the United Kingdom. As practiced by BP, petro-pedagogy constitutes a core part of a corporate education reform network that, for the past decade, has focused on promoting a neoliberal model of STEM education in schools around the world. This model, based on corporate and capitalist interests, poses a significant threat to our collective efforts to tackle the global climate crisis.
URLhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504622.2020.1724891
DOI10.1080/13504622.2020.1724891
Short TitleThe oil industry in our schools