Small technology, big data and the business of young people’s health: an international investigation of the digitisation of school health and physical education

While there is growing enthusiasm for using digital technology in school health and physical education (HPE), this is happening in the absence of systematic empirical research. This project will describe the forms digital HPE is taking, analyse the commercial and ideological forces shaping it, and discuss its impacts. It will provide educational stakeholders with a knowledge base on which to anchor debate, policy and further research concerning the complex ethical and philosophical issues raised by the digitisation of HPE. As the first HPE research grounded in theories of digital culture, the project will also challenge the intellectual foundations of HPE teacher training as well as widely held views about the public health role of schools.

This is a collaborative study with:

Professor Deborah Lupton - University of Canberra

Dr Deana Leahy - Monash University

Associate Professor Carolyn Pluim - Northern Illinois University