Page 127 - Education in a Digital World

114 International Development

Yet, far from being unilateral gifts, the philanthropic activities of commercial and
corporate interests clearly involve more than a straightforward desire to receive the
non-economic reward of what Andreoni (1989) describes as a ‘warm glow’. As Ball
(2008) and others have noted, corporate philanthropy in education is a key means
of gaining policy influence, raising the public profile and standing of a company,
and gaining public and/or political legitimacy. All of these benefits can be associated
with the philanthropic activities of commercial and corporate actors in developing
countries and regions – nowhere more so than in the area of educational technol-
ogy where a wide range of multinational IT industry interests have developed
extensive programmes of intervention.
The scope of this involvement is illustrated through the example of Cisco. Educational
ICT4D forms an integral part of Cisco’s boldly worded ‘Commitment to Global
Education in the Twenty-First Century’– not least its aim to “help reform and
renew education throughout the world”. One key element of this was the company’s
involvement in a series of ‘Global Education Initiatives’ during the 2000s delivered
under the banner of ‘Enabling education reform through technology’. The stated
focus of this work was that of ‘capacity building’ through sustained programmes of
teacher training, increasing student skills and working with local IT industry part-
ners to establish technology use in local schools. These efforts started in 2003 with
Cisco leading the three-year ‘Jordan Education Initiative’. This was a public-private
partnership that involved forty-five different partners ranging from Microsoft, Intel,
Computer Associates and Hewlett-Packard, alongside departments from the Jordanian
government and local charities and community groups. The focus of this programme
was on developing practical ways to support the effective use of digital technology
in Jordanian schools, as well as building the capacity of the local technology indus-
try. Alongside the equipping of schools with digital technology, perhaps the most
significant outcome of this work was the creation of a ‘sustainable model of edu-
cation reform’ that was designed intentionally to be adapted and ‘rolled out’ in
other countries – as it subsequently was in the later ‘Egyptian Education Initiative’
and ‘Rajasthan Education Initiative’.
This sustained approach to supporting educational technology use in countries
around the world is evident throughout Cisco’s recent work in developing coun-
tries. For example, the company has invested $1.5 million to support the non-profit
‘Teachers Without Borders’ programme which was set up to enhance ‘the quality
and dignity’ of the global teaching workforce. One of Cisco’s main roles here was
to support the development and delivery of online teaching training programmes
and certification. The company was responsible not only for assisting with the
technical aspects of the programme, but also for convening expert conferences on
teaching and pedagogy, and developing local centres and networks of teachers and
resources. Less visibly, Cisco continues to fund and support the activities of various
‘Cisco Fellows’– individual educational experts that work across the world to lead
and inspire consortia of partners and other stakeholders in technology-based
educational improvements and reforms.