Disadvantage in schooling is often constructed as a crisis in need of fixing. Global policy reforms tend to emphasise that solutions for disadvantage often lie beyond the capacity of the state, necessitating private/philanthropic intervention. This paper seeks to contribute to this line of analysis by investigating the rise of philanthropy in…

The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) has supported adult learning for over 120 years. Participating in adult learning brings a range of benefits for individuals and communities. These go much wider than solely education benefits and include better health, increased participation in community activities, and increased confidence and critical…

This paper uses critical archival analysis, paired with textual analysis of grant descriptions, to understand how nine foundations -- all with endowments derived from the student loan industry -- have motivated their college completion work and the relationship between these commitments and grantmaking over time (2000-2019). Mobilizing concepts of…

Community colleges educate nearly 50% of students who complete a degree at a four-year university. Yet, California community college funding remains lower than per student funding for the UC, CSU, and K-12 systems. Community college non-profit 501(c)3 foundations provide the opportunity to generate millions in support of their colleges, and yet…

This paper unpacks the discursive work of global education philanthropies to shed light on how the work of educational actors inscribes and directs global forces, connections and imaginaries to specific local ends. We do so by analyzing the discursive work of two educational philanthropies -- in the US and India -- that are similar but also vary…

Purpose: This article maps the rise of venture philanthropy in public education in Australia, exploring how policy networks mobilize high-level systemic reform and governance technologies. This is "philanthrocapitalism," a fundamental shift for policy mobility and modes of redistribution. Design/Approach/Methods: Drawing upon network…

The majority of the world's children live in low- and middle-income countries, yet the majority of early childhood cognitive research is done with a small proportion of high-income countries. These findings cannot be assumed to apply across all contexts. It is therefore necessary to confront entrenched systems of power and privilege in early…

Social return on investment (SROI), an evaluation method that compares monetized social value generated to costs invested, is in ascendance. Conceptually akin to cost-benefit analysis, it shares some of its challenges; however, these are heightened due to the expressed promise of using SROI to compare programs and inform philanthropic and public…

In part shaped by movements like Black Lives Matter, the crisis of the global pandemic, and the political and social turbulence of recent years, many thoughtful conversations have taken place in the philanthropic sector that question the power and privilege inherent in grantmaking and challenge whether conventional norms and practices in…

Affirmative action, a practice used since the 1960s to edge toward equity and address historical and ongoing injustice through higher education attainment, was struck down last month by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The immediate and longer term direct and indirect impacts of this ruling are vast and, in some cases, murky. In…

Objective: To examine the association between older adults' trust in cancer information and their preference for sources of this type of information. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The USA. Method: The data were obtained from Health Information National Trends Survey 5 Cycle 4 (2020). The sample included older Internet users (N = 1,223).…

Examining academics 'engagement with non-academics in industry, public agencies and charities, this paper examines gender gaps between men and women. Using a large-scale survey of UK academics, we find that although there is difference between women and men in the commercial areas of engagement, with men being more active in this domain than their…

In 2004, Robert Stake published a provocative article that asked: "How Far Dare an Evaluator Go Toward Saving the World?" This question raises the issue of what role evaluators' values play in the conduct of evaluations. Following review of Stake's premises, I present value statements from a diverse group of 40 evaluators working with…

According to the Next Generation Science Standards, three-dimensional teaching challenges educators to adopt an inquiry approach through science and engineering practices aligned with disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts. Few teachers today feel confident in their ability to orchestrate such lessons. Teaching inquiry science takes…

This qualitative study explored the influence of racialized lived experiences (RLEs) on equitable decision-making among philanthropic leaders, employing a narrative inquiry approach. It examined how diversity within philanthropy, beyond tokenistic representation, can introduce a wide range of perspectives that enhance equitable decision-making…