Foundations, schools and the state: school improvement partnerships in Germany and the United States as legitimacy-generating arrangements

The public school systems of both Germany and the United States face environmental pressures to provide better and more equitable results, while at the same time they are criticized for high degrees of bureaucracy and structural inertia. Public-private partnerships are frequently praised for their p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thümler, Ekkehard (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 07 Nov 2011
In: Public management review
Year: 2011, Volume: 13, Issue: 8, Pages: 1095-1116
ISSN:1471-9045
DOI:10.1080/14719037.2011.619065
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2011.619065
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Author Notes:Ekkehard Thümler
Description
Summary:The public school systems of both Germany and the United States face environmental pressures to provide better and more equitable results, while at the same time they are criticized for high degrees of bureaucracy and structural inertia. Public-private partnerships are frequently praised for their potential to provide a remedy to these deficits. In this article, I investigate the role of private philanthropic foundations that co-operate with public actors in school improvement partnerships. Drawing on institutional theory and empirical data derived from the exploratory research project ‘Strategies for Impact in Education’, the article concludes that an important function of such arrangements is the generation of legitimacy in case of ‘successful failure’.
Item Description:Gesehen am 03.11.2022
Special issue on philanthropy and public policy
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1471-9045
DOI:10.1080/14719037.2011.619065