‘New Philanthropy’ And Education Policy: What Is ‘New’ About It?

Abstract

Business and philanthropy have been increasing their influence in public education in what might be called a turn from government to governance. In the context of governance, not only the role of the State has been changing, but also, concomitantly, the work and values of philanthropy, which is both agent and subject of change. Adopting market values and practices, it has been often referred to as ‘new philanthropy’. This paper explores what is ‘new’ in this ‘new philanthropy’, or how new modes of giving diverge from previous ones, drawing upon examples of philanthropy in Brazilian education. With a combination of literature review and online data collection, this paper examines key aspects of ‘new philanthropy’, namely: philanthrocapitalism, philantho-policymaking, the relation between giving and outcomes, givers’ hands-on-approach, and philanthropy’s global network.