Philanthropy and Education Reform: New Models and Persisting Challenges

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

In this symposium, researchers will present four papers exploring the varied new terrains in which powerful private actors, including philanthropic foundations and nonprofit organizations, exert power to shape educational reform. The symposium will begin with a conceptual piece which examines the legitimacy of philanthropic actors who are not subject to democratic accountability. Building on this piece, three empirical papers explore: (1) the convergence of philanthropic foundations around economic modes of reasoning, (2) the formation of coalitions and policy learning in teacher licensure reform in North Carolina, and (3) the relationships supporting and limiting a youth-serving community-based educational non-profit organization. Drawing on varied theoretical and empirical lenses, these papers present a deepened understanding of the role of private actors in education.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Philanthropy and Education

Chair

• Megan Tompkins-Stange, University of Michigan

Papers

• Plutocratic Influence in Education: Democratic (Un)Accountability of Philanthropic Actors - Nora Reikosky, University of Pennsylvania

• Competitive, Innovative, and Efficient? An Analysis of Economic Reasoning in Federal Education Grant-Making - Abigail Orrick, Harvard University

• License to Teach: Coalition Formation and Policy Learning in North Carolina Teacher Licensure Reform, 2021–2022 - Meghan Comstock, University of Maryland; Abigail Dym, University of Pennsylvania; Maya Kaul, University of Pennsylvania

• Complex Relationships: Case Study on a Youth-Serving Community-Based Educational Nonprofit in the Urban Schooling Landscape - Abbie Cohen, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussant

• Megan Tompkins-Stange, University of Michigan