Our Focus on Public Education
In our chapter, we will be discussing public and private education philanthropy, but we will not be focusing on donations by philanthropists, non-profits, or just regular alumni to universities and colleges. This is due to our group coming to the conclusion throughout our initial research that not as much time is spent focusing on the $3 billion dollars donated to public schools. Immediately recognizing that there was not as much coverage about a topic as important as this, public and private primary and secondary education became our focus.
An important part in understanding this focus is the publics’ general lack of knowledge around how philanthropy affects curriculums and policies. With only 7.8% of the public education budget coming from the federal government (Hanson), it is crucial that a broader understanding is met around the issue of how schools fill in that gap. Philanthropy controls more than most are aware of in the education sector, especially when not discussing universities.
