Philanthropy in Education in the Global South

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

While the international education sector has historically been dominated by non-profits, multilateral donors and bilateral aid, philanthropic actors are increasingly active in the sector (Ridge & Terway, 2019). Despite a few publications by global education policy scholars within Comparative and International Education (CIE) (Ball, 2019, or also Au, & Lubienski, 2016; and Olmedo, 2016), education research about philanthropy’s involvement in education provision, funding, and policy making is surprisingly scarce relative to its increasing importance and impact on the field. Though studies exploring the history of education sometimes investigate the intersection of philanthropy and education, the literature to date tends to be uncomprehensive, scattered, affirmative and therefore uncritical, sometimes advocacy driven, and highly US focused (see Erfurth & Ridge, forthcoming; Walton, 2019; or Drezner, 2017). Discussions missing in the literature include, for instance, those around rising global levels of individual wealth and corresponding increases in philanthropic giving around the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific and MENA regions (Drezner, 2017; Terway, 2019). Moreover, philanthropic actors and networks are becoming more diverse, more influential and more active in debates and policy advocacy in the education sector. As they do this they also seek to widen their spheres of influence and activity while raising new theoretical and methodological questions in CIE research. In sum, philanthropy’s role and involvement in education and policymaking is growing, but the implications of this larger change for education and policy remain understudied. To be more precise, such change encompasses an increasing global interconnection of philanthropies; the growing outreach and geographic scope in which they operate; the pursuit of geopolitical/-strategic agendas; or also the intersection of non-profit philanthropy and for-profit business in education.
This panel, drawn from a volume on Philanthropy in Education: Diverse Perspectives and Global Trends, a joint project between the Al Qasimi Foundation and NORRAG, published with Edward Elgar, brings together four different empirical and conceptual papers by researchers and practitioners to explore the philanthropy’s role and engagement in the Global South. Furthermore, it seeks to contribute to the study of global education policy in CIE by investigating actors, agendas, and emerging processes on a global scale. The first contribution explores the role of corporate philanthropy in local education in Nigeria by focusing on global actors and their local engagement. The second contribution investigates actors and agendas based on a case study about philanthropy’s involvement in the Peruvian education system. The third study investigates education reform in Brazil by focusing on corporate social responsibility in greater detail, adopting a focus on existing and emerging actors and agendas. Lastly, the fourth contribution explores philanthropy’s role in education in the Middle East and North Africa, examining higher education policy and philanthropic agendas to identify emerging processes and discourses.

Sub Unit

• Philanthropy and Education SIG

Chair

• Marvin Erfurth, Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research & University of Muenster

Individual Presentations

• Interrogating Corporate Philanthropy in Education: The Case of Nigeria - Inyang Udo-Umoren, Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa - Nigeria

• A Will in Search of a Way: Philanthropy in Education in Peru - Vicente M. León, Universidad del Pacífico; Matthew D. Bird, Universidad del Pacífico

• Corporate Social Responsibility and Science Education Reform in Brazil: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Heitor Santos, Stanford University

• Education and Philanthropy in the Middle East and North Africa - Marvin Erfurth, Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research & University of Muenster