Philanthrocapitalism and the third generation of privatization of education in São Paulo

Abstract

This paper characterizes the third generation of privatization of São Paulo education, viewed as a result of articulated incidence of private business-based agents, organized in a systemic and institutional manner. The sense of privatization of education grounds itself on Belfield and Levin (2004) and implies the transfer of state of São Paulo government’s activities and responsibilities to private organizations concerning three dimensions of educational policies: curriculum, educational provision and educational management. (Adrião, 2018). The period corresponds to the original format of “Programa de Compromisso São Paulo pela Educação (2011–2018)” and analyzes the consequences of “Programa Educação Integral (PEI)” in sixteen pilot schools. Data is sourced from documental research (web pages, official documents and data banks). Results indicate: the absence of publicly available data pertaining to the analyzed programs; that PEI has not altered offer conditions or drastically impacted schools, which, for the most part, were already above average; that corporate management of educations installation by private associations was lead by philanthrocapitalists who demanded returns and evidence on the results of their private investments, a condition opposite to democratic education management.