Conceptualizing the role of nonprofit intermediaries in pursuing entrepreneurship within schools in Israel

Abstract

This article investigates the rationales and activities of nine nonprofit intermediary organizations operating in Israeli public schools, under similar missions of promoting school entrepreneurship. I apply a multiple case study qualitative methodology with in-depth interviews and complementary content analysis to investigate how those intermediaries operate and thrive. I depict how the concept of school entrepreneurship is formed and facilitated and reveal how state policy and intermediaries’ activities interact and shape schools’ realm, as shown in three specific paradoxes emerging from my analysis.

Roles of local foundations in German community-based initiatives: Devolving criticism of philanthropy to the local?

“…Secondly, reports suggest that recent developments have fostered parallel education structures in competition with established state delivery (Mungal, 2016;Reckhow & Snyder, 2014). In other words, philanthropy operates education services for which the state holds a legal responsibility for delivery to its citizens (Yemini, 2017). Establishing a different mix of coordination and governance, governments seem to have lost their monopoly (Ball, 2016).…”

“…Thirdly, as noted by Reckhow and Snyder (2014, p. 186), "criticism about ineffectiveness has been replaced by criticism that foundations are too powerful". Since boundaries between responsibilities have become blurred, education philanthropy has been able to extend its influence on policy formulation and implementation (Harrow, 2011;Yemini, 2017). Gautreaux and Delgado (2016) observe such developments on a global scale and see philanthropists at the forefront-influencing and steering educational policies.…”

Market logic at school: Emerging intra-school competition between private and public STEM programmes in Israel

“…The implementation of market logic is reflected in the diverse modes of privatisation within and among education systems (Hursh & Martina, 2016), as well as in the reduced role of governments in delivering and regulating education services. This change takes place alongside the increasing involvement of external agencies1 in education systems (Almog-Bar & Zychlinski, 2012;Hursh & Martina, 2016;Savas, 2005;Yemini, 2017;Yemini & Sagie, 2015).…”

“…Frequently, external organisations must benefit various interest groups such as the MOE, municipalities, and schools; this ability to act upon differing agendas grants them with an image of promoters of innovation and change within schools (Dvir et al, 2017;Yemini, 2017). On the other hand, integration of external organisations into schools creates complex power dynamics between the various interest groups with misaligned interests (Sagie, Yemini, & Bauer, 2016;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018;Yemini & Sagie, 2015).…”

“…On the other hand, integration of external organisations into schools creates complex power dynamics between the various interest groups with misaligned interests (Sagie, Yemini, & Bauer, 2016;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018;Yemini & Sagie, 2015). Indeed, the complicated relations between the Israeli education system and external organisations remain unsettled (Almog Bar, 2016;Ichilov, 2009;Weinheber et al, 2008;Yemini, 2017), despite the significant growth in the number of organisations operating within schools (Eden, 2012).…”