The power of platforms and the impact of technology philanthropy and other technology actors on educational development

Group Submission Type: Paper Session

Description of Session

Technology philanthropists, defined here to include high net-worth individuals and the organizations they found and lead, are an emerging class of “elite” donors who often pair philanthropic vehicles with business mechanisms to pursue their philanthropic goals. While technology philanthropy generally has origins in the US, ubiquitous global demand for and use of technology products and platforms positions philanthropic technology solutions to potentially follow that reach. Anyone navigating or analyzing education dynamics today must unpack the power and influence of technology corporations and technology philanthropists, as well as the power and influence of the platforms and products they offer – and potential implications for education governance and systems of public education. In this vein, this panel addresses points of intersection between the 2021/2 Global Education Monitoring Report on Non-state actors in education and 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report on Technology and education and calls for possible safeguards to ensure that policymaking and practice alike are transparent, accountable, and grounded in due diligence.

Sub Unit

• Globalization & Education SIG

Chair

• Gita Steiner-Khamsi, Columbia University Teachers College & NORRAG

Individual Presentations

• Digital asset-making in the global higher education sector - Janja Komljenovic, Lancaster University

• Emerging roles and tradeoffs of philanthropic and other private sector engagement: A study of technology actors in the US and China - Dana Dana Brakman Reiser Brakman Reiser, Brooklyn Law School

• The business of development: The donor logic of technology corporations in international education - Lara Patil, NORRAG

Discussant

• Manos Antoninis, Global Education Monitoring Report, UNESCO