Abstract
ABSTRACT Contemporary discourses of educational philanthropy highlight the increasing role that benefactors play in shaping schools’ policy and practice. In Australia, there have been growing ethical concerns about the model of school funding and the attention it attracts from billionaire edu-philanthropists to support faith-based private schools as highly exclusionary forms of schooling. Utilising ‘small d’ discourse analysis and Nancy Fraser’s theory of justice, we draw on focus group and interviews conducted with leading Australian edu-philanthropists, alongside observations of social media platforms, to identify the ethical discourses surrounding edu-philanthropic justice in such schools. Discourses revealed paradoxes of (i) fairness extending access to exclusionary forms of schooling; (ii) identity – preventing disadvantaged students from experiencing identity-based rejection in schools supposedly designed to meet their needs; and (iii) welfare – fulfilling this right in a quasi-education market, though, consequently, diminishing the welfare state’s responsibilities. This new knowledge advances discussions on edu-philanthropy, educational ethics, and school choice.
Published Version
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