Freshed

Lobbyists are paid to influence government officials. They often operate behind closed doors, hidden from public view. In the education sector, for-profit companies rely on the work of lobbyists to promote commercial interests in public policy, from privately operated public schools to the use of education technology inside classrooms. My guest today author, lobbyist, and activist, Tamasin Cave, shines a light on commercial lobbyists in Britain’s education sector. A director of SpinWatch and leader of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency, Cave talks about her book, co-authored with Andy Rowell, entitled: A Quiet Word: Lobbying, Crony Capitalism and Broken Politics in Britain, which was published in 2014 by Random House. Cave reveals the techniques used by successful lobbyists and discusses the revolving door among government officials, corporate lobbyists, and media elite. She calls for transparency in lobbying and reveals how she thinks like a lobbyist.

How did vouchers and charter schools become key elements in the education reform agenda in the United States? My guest today, Professor of Education Policy at the University of Illinois, Chris Lubienski, speaks about the rise of policy orchestration among a network of private and non-profit actors and what this means for democratic decision making. His research shows how Philanthropic Foundations, such as the Gates and Walton Family Foundations, and think tanks, such as the Brookings Institute and RAND corporation, have come to promote a common agenda that has helped propel vouchers and charters into the national spotlight. Professor Lubienski explores the changing structures of educational policy making in the United States, and argues that the contracting out of policy making to actors such as Gates, Brookings, and RAND has resulted in the privatization of public policy making.

My guest today, educational researcher Dr. Frank Adamson, gives us a look at his new book: "Global Educational Reform: How Privatization and Public Investment influence Education Outcomes" (Routledge), which he co-edited with Bjorn Astrand and Linda Darling-Hammond. Frank is a Senior Policy and Research Analyst at the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. His new book, due out in March of 2016, offers a comparative look at the education policies and outcomes in six countries - Chile, Cube, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the United States. Frank and his co-editors selected these countries because collectively they span a range of education policy approaches – from neoliberal approaches that emphasize school vouchers to social democratic approaches that emphasize government’s responsibility for education.