Cartographies of educational lobbying: The case of Spanish corporations

Abstract

Nowadays there are new private agents, beyond the traditional ones (trade unions, religious entities, supranational organizations, etc.), which are actively participating in the construction of standardized social imaginaries about education.  The aim of this paper is to identify these emerging agents and analyse their strategies of influence on teachers and public opinion. An analysis of 22 case studies was carried out with the following inclusion criteria: a) companies based in Spain, b) without direct links to the education sector or to marketing or sales strategies, and c) with a direct impact on the teaching role. A first analysis draws a constellation of programs in which companies belonging to disparate sectors such as banking, energy, insurance, communication, entertainment, etc. participate. Many companies develop various initiatives and establish synergies with other entities. The intervention strategies were grouped into seven categories, the most common being teacher training programmes and the creation of teaching materials. The growing interest of companies in influencing education, redefining the role of teachers, is evident. This phenomenon, framed in a new philanthropy, shows the consolidated presence of large corporations in the field of education.