How Does Business Influence Education?

Many external factors have an effect on public schooling. The influence on professional education,  organisations, parental participation, companies, and the federal government and court systems play a greater deal.

Business and education are two important but distinct streams of British culture. Business principles and procedures are typically more tangible – “product-oriented” – whereas education is focused with less tangible goals such as assisting our youth in becoming decent citizens. Businesses are now collaborating with schools in ways that can alter every part of the educational process, driven by a need for a better labour force. Educators have encouraged this involvement as a result of growing conflicts among resources and goals.

Business engagement has been largely benign thus far, but based on the quantity of research on the subject, its position in education requires careful consideration.

Large businesses have led the charge in upgrading public education since the 1980s, reportedly in response to concerns that schools are failing to prepare students with the skills and knowledge needed to be productive members of society. Since 1983, more than 100,000 business/educational collaborations have been formed, with businesses serving as both the strongest supporters and the harshest critics of the educational system. Several prominent firms’ CEOs, notably Microsoft, Apple, and Pepsico, have lobbied for educational development at the highest ranks and have donated millions of dollars to promote better education since the early 1980s.

The Roundtable

One renowned example of the business world‘s initiatives to alter education is the Business Roundtable. A Roundtable is a group of CEOs from a number of big corporations who campaign for educational reforms that will boost fundamental education standards, skills, and knowledge in order to ensure that education meets the needs of the growing workforce.

The Involvement of Businesses

Some have questioned businesses’ involvement in education, claiming that schools and students may be purposely shaped to fulfil particular business requirements while being vulnerable to unfettered corporate advertising influence. Business executives deny these allegations, claiming that they are forced to spend billions of dollars each year on remedial education for their employees in order to raise their employees up to par and maintain their competitive advantage in global markets. They contend that putting money into schooling will reduce the need for remedial classes or assignment help in the UK that students often require later in life.

Some critics of corporate participation in educational institutions also argue that the purchasing power of school-aged teens, projected to be $500 billion per year, is the motive that encourages companies to approach the educational institutions with products or services for teachers and learners. Others are against exclusivity contracts that some corporations, such as Pepsico, impose on schools. The educational institutions agree to sell the business’ product solely in exchange for extra payments from that specific business. As a result, this increases brand loyalty among young consumers.

Businesses and Privatisation of Education

Businesses influence education in order to advocate for the privatisation of public schools, which means that certain schools are no longer run by the local school board and are instead managed by private companies. Some school districts have engaged firms to run their schools, such as Edison Schools or Sylvan Learning, Inc., in the hopes of improving student grades on assessment measures. Some suggest that private firms can more effectively and successfully administer school administration at a lower cost.

Those who are opposed to this view, most notably teacher’s associations, argue that the wellbeing of students may be secondary to the company’s aim to earn a profit. In practice, the privatisation movement has resulted in lower teacher-student ratios and wider access to a variety of materials and gadgets; however, concrete results on academic attainment have yet to be established. Businesses have an impact on what happens in the classroom in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The importance of corporations in education cannot be overstated.  Businesses surrounding the place of institutions of education, just like education is crucial to the local community, are also helpful to the achievement of students and the community.

An Overview of a Study

This analysis of “the most robust evidence on the impact of education links with employers” in the United Kingdom and the United States tends to focus on “findings of a measurable improvement in grades, and other measures of students’ accomplishment,” as well as a small number of other, easy to quantify outputs like improvement in attendance and improved overall rates of wages” Researchers found 135 “possibly relevant” papers, which they narrowed down to 15 after comparing them to the analysis of goals and evaluating their scientific credibility.

The documents referenced 12 studies. Out of those twelve, eight were found that employer engagement had a positive impact on the achievements of students. Four showed no positive and negative influences and there was no such report for attainment that was affected due to the initiative of employer engagement. Moreover, all the studies indicated benefits in various outcome indicators. Those were: improved attendance; decreased drop-out rates; greater enrolment rates and frequency in post-secondary education; improvement in the likelihood of graduating on time; and higher salaries.

Employer engagement was examined in a variety of ways in the research. As per Miller and Linnehan, mentoring programmes boost accomplishment, and employer engagement in curriculum creation and delivery has a beneficial impact on achievement over mathematics. Enterprise initiatives, summer school, and the delivery of expertise for teachers’ continued professional development are among the other activities addressed.

According to the study, communication and collaboration among both teachers and businesses regarding instructional supervision is an “essential feature,” and having a variety of practical experiences for students, high school standards, and high levels of business involvement are also prevalent indices of effective approaches.

Experts note the scarcity of high-quality education in this sector, claiming that “a deeper understanding would necessitate a high power and high basis” and that “there’s much more quantity than quality of the study on the influence of business linkages.” Also, there is an obvious need for greater research into the effects of engagement of businesses on student achievements.

Wrap up

A partnership between a business and educational institution is a mutually beneficial arrangement in which the partners adhere to specified goals and activities that benefit students and educational institutions. In the majority of circumstances, partnering is a win-win arrangement for all parties concerned.

Author Bio – Henry Clay, an education consultant, currently associated with many clients in the tutoring industry like TutorOpedia, My Assignment Services. He loves to play football and reading books in his free time.

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