Cross-Sector Alliances in Charter Schools: The Role of Board of Directors in For-Profit and Nonprofit Sectors

• In Event: Privilege, Access, Privatization, and Equity in School Choice Environments

Abstract

In this paper, we document the extent of such alliances formed with for-profit and non-profit sectors, review various theories about how stakeholders add value to the schools, and seek to relate their presence to academic outcomes. Our descriptive results provide some support for resource dependency theory in that charter school governing boards is dominated by a narrow set of actors from specific industries in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors as strategic response to resource-based pressure. Further research is needed to examine the degree of dependency of charter schools to these external actors, and what specific skills, experiences, and forms of social and cultural capital these actors have leveraged to influence or control charter school board decisions and organizational performance.

Authors

• Charisse A. Gulosino, University of Memphis

• Elif Sisli Ciamarra, Stonehill College