It Takes a Village to Advance Social Justice and Education Equity: Exploring the Internal and External Factors that Drive Private Sector Engagement in Partnerships for the Greater Good

Abstract

Family socioeconomic status—household income and maternal education in particular—are among the most robust predictors of student success, making poverty arguably one of the education sector’s most significant challenges. But school systems alone cannot solve the problems rooted in poverty that inhibit a young person’s ability to learn—problems like toxic stress, housing instability, food insecurity, or community violence. So how can school systems forge partnerships with key stakeholders to combat poverty and improve student outcomes? And what is the operating environment that would enable these partnerships to thrive? To begin answering these queries, I conducted qualitative research with the Aspen Institute’s Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation (PSI), which seeks to uncover lasting solutions to deeply entrenched societal issues by encouraging collaboration among philanthropy, government, and the business community. Specifically, this research explored the internal and external factors that facilitate corporate social justice—a new framework describing business engagement in advancing social issues—often executed through partnerships. I conducted interviews with senior executives from Fortune 200 companies that made explicit commitments to combat racism and systemic inequities. This research was guided by two hypotheses. First, I posited that corporate social justice is compelling to the private sector and can serve as a replacement for the shared value thesis. This hypothesis suggests that win-win or profit-driven narratives are not required to stimulate business engagement in social good. Interview data support my first hypothesis. My second hypothesis asserted that businesses are best suited to engage in corporate social justice: (1) when partnering with non-business stakeholders (nonprofit or government entities) and (2) when pursuing goals not aligned with their business model. Interviews validated the first but not the second element of this hypothesis. Based on interview findings, I made recommendations to PSI for encouraging and sustaining business engagement in social justice. This research concludes with implications for the prenatal-12 education system on forging partnerships with businesses to combat poverty, drive social justice, and advance equity to improve student outcomes.