Network Evolution in the Charter Management Organization Philanthropy Field

• In Event: Educational Privatization: Examining Contexts, Policies, and Partners

Abstract

Much of the rapid growth in the charter school sector is occurring through charter management organizations (CMOs). Drawing on the longitudinal grantmaking networks of CMOs and their funders in the United States between 2003-2012, we test several homophily effects on the formation of a tie between a CMO and its funders. Homophily based on one-mode degree centrality, one-mode eigenvector centrality, state of the headquarter, grant amount given, were tested for each year covered. We employ Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM), which overcomes the violation of the independence of observations assumptions, and find presence of homophily effects in the CMO-funder network, especially during the more recent years. This study has implications for social network analytical research in education philanthropy.

Authors

• Rand Quinn, University of Pennsylvania

• Ji Eun Park, School District of Philadelphia

• Amanda Jones-Layman, University of Pennsylvania