Education grad explores corporate sponsorship in schools

Should corporate sponsorship be invited into the classroom? That's a question Peter Speers posed to parents, teachers and administrators of School District 83 as part of a report for his master's degree in educational leadership.

The social worker has won the Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal (other than thesis) for his work, which looked at the health, ethical and financial issues related to school corporate sponsorship.

Speers began his relationship with UVic in 1983, graduating in 1986 with a BA in sociology. He studied social work through UVic's distance education program while simultaneously working in northern B.C. as a child protection worker, and graduated with a bachelor of social work in 1990. Today, he's a team leader with the Ministry of Children and Family Development in the North Okanagan, a position he's held for the past six years. His team deals with children with special needs and adults with mental challenges.

Speers became interested in the effects of corporate sponsorship while earning his master's degree. "The issue was often in the news, and I wanted to research how such developments would affect those directly involved," he says. "I spoke to people within the system, and saw that a general concern exists about how sponsorship relates to the branding of children and youth, and their consumerism."

His research also uncovered concerns about student health. "There's discussion about the logistics of selling candy and pop to children, while at the same time instilling attitudes about healthy nutrition," says Speers. "Realistically, educators recognize that funding is sparse, but what's more important - fiscal restraint or the well-being of children?"

Such ethical concerns are at the forefront of Speers' involvement in social work. "I prefer to approach social work problems from a principle-based perspective, rather than be policy-driven," says Speers, who is already eyeing a PhD. "I'm proud to work with people who put human values ahead of the fiscal bottom line."