Toxic Education
How Schools Are Damaging Young People’s Health and Wellbeing and How We Can Fix Them
By Chris Bonell
Published
Apr 10, 2025Page count
160 pagesISBN
978-1447375326Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Apr 10, 2025Page count
160 pagesISBN
978-1447375319Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Apr 10, 2025Page count
160 pagesISBN
978-1447375333Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy Press
Toxic Education
Young people’s mental health is in crisis, with many – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – struggling academically and with the later transition to employment. Feeling excluded, many young people turn to harmful behaviours, such as vaping and alcohol use, for escape and a sense of belonging.
Schools are increasingly expected to address these issues but often lack the time and expertise to do so effectively. Based on the author’s research, including the successful ‘Learning Together’ trial – an innovative program that improved mental health, reduced bullying and raised academic achievement – this book provides a blueprint for a fundamental shift in how schools support young people.
Essential reading for teachers, public health workers and policy makers tackling the health and educational inequalities affecting young people today.
“A must-read for all interested in children’s mental health and educational outcomes. Clearly explained and evidence-based practical advice to improve both.” Tamsin Ford, University of Cambridge
“This thoughtful and provocative book suggests that it is time to rethink the education system, and to do that through the eyes of young people. We need to reassess how the system works and what it is for – for the sake of equality and for the sake of all young people's life experiences and health outcomes.” Ann Hagell, University of Exeter Medical School
“Profoundly unsettling yet ultimately inspiring, Toxic Education exposes the ways in which schooling often harms young people's wellbeing and offers proven effective strategies for confronting and overcoming this critical issue.” Bowen Paulle, University of Amsterdam
Chris Bonell is a sociologist and public health researcher who specialises in adolescent health and interventions to improve this. He teaches at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and previously worked at the University of Oxford and the Social Exclusion Unit. He provided scientific advice to the UK government and the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he is a member of the Department for Education Science Advisory Council. He lives in Walthamstow with his partner and two children.
1. Introduction: How Schools Can Seriously Damage Young People’s Health
2. Toxic Experiences: What Young People Say About Schools
3. Toxic Trends and Patterns: Data on Young People’s Health
4. Toxic Policy? Education Policy and its Consequences
5. Health Interventions in Schools as Sticking Plasters
6. The Learning Together Intervention: Effective School Detox in England
7. International Examples of Effective School Detox
8. What works, for Whom and Where
9. Detoxifying Education Policy
10. Conclusion: Detoxifying Education
