The outsourcing of health, sport and physical educational work: a state of play

Background: The outsourcing of health, sport and physical educational (HSPE) work has been a feature of physical education (PE) ‘futures talk’ for over 20 years. However, HSPE work outsourcing has been the focus of little empirical research and only occasional commentary. That small amount of empirical research that has been conducted has been narrow in scope, focusing exclusively on primary schools and at times presented data that are partial and fragmentary. Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to investigate HSPE work outsourcing in the Australian state of Queensland. Specifically, we examined the prevalence of such outsourcing among Queensland schools, the ways that these schools were using it, and the reasons why they had done so. Methods: A random, proportionately stratified sample of 846 Queensland schools was invited to participate in this study. This sample included government and non-government, primary, secondary, combined primary-secondary and special schools. Data were collected via a mixed-mode survey design that was implemented using Internet and paper-copy forms of a context specific 21-item questionnaire. Results: The questionnaire's response rate was 32%. Simple relational analyses of the data demonstrated that: (a) 85% (n = 230) of schools reported outsourcing some form of HSPE work in the previous twelve months; (b) many schools used outsourced HSPE work for outdoor adventure activities and extra-curricular activities; (c) 75% (n = 203) of all respondents engaged in some form of fee-based outsourcing and 83% of all outsourcing arrangements were fee-based; (d) the majority of schools paid for outsourced HSPE work using school funds or by charging participating students; and (e) the most frequently reported reason for outsourcing HSPE work was to access external suppliers' expertise. Conclusions: These data replicate some findings of previous research in a different research context as well as presenting forms of data on HSPE work outsourcing hitherto unreported. Furthermore, they demonstrate the ways in which HSPE work is embedded in broader social, political and economic shifts, particularly changing relations between capital, education and the state. Finally they also serve to prompt critical questions about why HSPE work is outsourced, how it is outsourced and the impact it has on the educational labour process and all those involved in it. We conclude that HSPE work outsourcing is a practice with the potential to significantly disturb labouring, learning and the politics of expertise as they relate to health, sport and physical education.