The power of third sector organizations in public education
| Date | 08 July 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-08-2018-0142 |
| Pages | 411-425 |
| Published date | 08 July 2019 |
| Author | Nina Kolleck |
| Subject Matter | Education,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education |
The power of third sector
organizations in public education
Nina Kolleck
Department of Educational Research and Social Systems,
Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to address school–NGO interactions by analyzing the power of
foundations –a specific type of third sector organization or NGO in education.
Design/methodology/approach –Data are collected through a quantitative survey, qualitative interviews,
official documents, reports and websites. Social network analysis and grounded theory are used to analyze
the data with the aim to develop a theoretical approach.
Findings –The study identifies t hree dimensions, i.e . relational, struct ural and discursive di mensions
of power. Based on the analysi s of an illustrative multi-stakeholde ri nitiative, the paper highlights the role
of foundations in frami ng educational settings, concepts and struct ures of the education system as such.
Practical implications –The three-dimensional power perspective offered in this paper is particularly
useful for scholars investigating school–NGO interactions or multi-stakeholder partnerships in education.
Furthermore, it is of crucial importance for practitioners, school principals and education administrators
dealing with school–NGO interactions given that foundations seem to be increasingly able to draw on new
sources of power in these interactions.
Originality/value –While the number and power of the third sector in education continues to rise
worldwide, there is wide consensus that NGO power in education has, to date, hardly been researched.
This paper contributes to this dearth of research by uncovering foundations’different sources of power and
by developing a theoretical approach for analyzing the power of third-sector organizations in education.
Keywords Public education, Third sector, Social network analysis, Foundation, Cross-sectoral networks,
Power analysis
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The outcomes of international student assessments (such as the Programme for
International Student Assessment) have raised questions about the global
competitiveness of educational systems in many countries. One of the reactions to
these rankings has been a surge of interest in the role of social networks between schools
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in processes of educational improvement
(Lewis and Patrinos, 2011). Since 2010, a rising number of cross-sectoral networks have
emerged in which formal education actors (e.g. schools) and NGOs (non-profit and
for-profit organizations) seek to address current challenges in education worldwide
(de Boer et al., 2018; Rowan and Meyer, 2006). NGOs are becoming progressively involved
in school improvement initiatives and scholars observe that NGOs are increasingly
exerting power on schools and educational systems worldwide (e.g. Berkovich and
Foldes, 2012; Eyal and Yarm, 2018; Kolleck, 2016; Verger, 2012; Yemini et al., 2018).
Atthesametime,thereisawideconsensusthatthereisstillonlylittleresearchonthe
power of private influences in education (Souto-Otero, 2015) and that research has so far
neglected the power of NGOs in educational settings and schools (e.g. Berkovich and
Foldes, 2012; Eyal and Yarm, 2018; Fahrenwald and Feyerer, 2018; Verger, 2012; Yemini et
al., 2018). This is especially true for foundations, which can be characterized
as a particular type o r legal category of NG O –being established as charitable trusts Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 57 No. 4, 2019
pp. 411-425
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-08-2018-0142
Received 6 August 2018
Revised 16 September 2018
25 October 2018
31 October 2018
1 November 2018
Accepted 2 November 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
This research was supported by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung NetKuB, Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (KO 4997/4-1, FOR 1745) and Mercator Foundation (A16015).
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Power of
third sector
organizations
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