Business and early childhood education reform

What?s the Bottom Line? Corporate Involvement in an Early Childhood Initiative

“…Although some commentators (Burke, 1986;Harty, 1994;Kohn, 2002;Mickelson, 1999) have urged caution when entering into these relationships, just as many (Bjorklund, 1994;Friedman, 1994;Hollenbeck, 1996;Kisner, Mazza, & Liggett, 1997) have advocated that educators forge ahead with them, seeing such partnerships as essential for the survival of public schools and other social programs. Critics have argued that school-business partnerships give corporate leaders the license to define the purposes of education, an agenda that often narrowly emphasize the acquisition of skills needed to enter the labor force (Apple, 1995;House, 1998;Kohn, 2002;Molnar, 1996).…”

“…With the apparent success of school-business partnerships, relationships with early childhood initiatives seemed to be a natural progression for public-private partnerships (Bjorklund, 1994;Friedman, 1994;Trachtman, 1989). With women entering the workforce in increasing numbers, the issue of childcare has become a matter of interest to corporations.…”