The rise of philanthropic governance in a Southern European setting: unpacking discourse structures of educational innovation reforms

• In Event: Privatizing education policy: exploring the role, networks and strategies of philanthropic actors to advance educational reform glocally (Part 2)

Proposal

In recent decades, globalization has had profound effects on policies worldwide, transforming the role of the State and the traditional modes of regulation and governance, as well as facilitating the emergence of a new global educational reform movement. Amid significant changes in the role of the State, a new modality of governance is gaining more centrality: philanthropic governance. This emerging mode of governance is led by philanthropic foundations that not only provide financial resources, or technical support to specific programs but, moreover, engage in shaping and reforming the educational system architecture (Ball, 2010; Reckhow & Snyder, 2014). Within the field of global education policy, education innovation has gained centrality as a cornerstone of school governance reforms promoted by international organizations, such as the OECD, UNESCO, and the World Bank, often implemented by local and regional philanthropic networks and policy entrepreneurs.

Although educational innovation is gaining momentum in the global education reform movement in recent years (actively pursued by international organizations), the political economy of the processes of vernacularisation of the educational innovation reforms have been only partially addressed, and the role of philanthropic organizations within it largely ignored. Precisely, this paper presents a critical case study, analyzing the role of the philanthropic network EN21, operating in Catalonia. Indeed, this paper explores the rise of philanthropic governance in a Southern European setting, analyzing the semiotic strategies through which the philanthropic network Escola Nova 21 (EN21) has successfully used to promote educational innovation reforms in Catalonia (Spain). The Catalan educational system is characterized by three main elements: a significant historical presence of publicly funded private schooling sector (similar to other historical public-private partnerships -such as the Netherlands and Belgium); a regulated choice regime, where geographical boundaries strongly limit the school choice set available for families and constitute one of the several schools’ admission criteria (similar also to other Southern European countries); and high levels segregation. As we will argue, EN21 impacts have been favored by this threefold educational configuration. Within this context, of austerity policies and of retreat of the State, in 2016, the network EN21 emerged. The EN21 initiative was initially introduced as a pilot program comprised between 2016 and 2019, reaching 481 schools (i.e., 16% of Catalan schools).

Our analysis, based on Critical Discourse Analysis, suggests that EN21 has disseminated a narrative of educational crisis, framing educational innovation as a desirable and self-evident policy solution. Discursively, EN21 encompassed diverse policy paradigms within two main dimensions of innovation (organizational and pedagogical), strategically tailoring it to different forums (serving alternatively both progressive and neoliberal paradigms). In doing so, EN21 has created an influential advocacy coalition by bridging the policy preferences of a wide range of actors. We discuss the political implications of philanthropic governance acting as ‘jurisdictional challengers’ and its impacts on educational reforms, privatization ‘of’ and ‘in’ education, as well as participation and democracy.

Authors

• Andreu Termes, Autonomous university of barcelona

• Martí Manzano Moliner, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

• Marcel Pagès, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

• Lluís Parcerisa, University of Barcelona