Changing systems and challenging inequalities: The ford foundation's mission and programs

Riham Ahmed Khafagy, Zayed University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

Publication Date

1-1-2020

Abstract

© Common Ground Research Networks, Riham Ahmed Khafagy, All Rights Reserved. Since the 1950s, the Ford Foundation has been one of the most influential international philanthropic actors. The Foundation pays special attention to the educational and learning process; as appears in its annual grants. Thus, it has an extensive domestic as well as global impact. In this article, I investigate the Ford Foundation's philosophy and vision in influencing the educational process based on its mission and programs and critically evaluating their relevance to the targeted societies. According to its literature, the Foundation has a holistic philosophy, which targets changing disruptive systems of learning as well as fundamentally challenging inequalities of youths' social and economic settings. This, supposedly, should enhance their maintainable potentials of learning. I argue that despite its idealistic mission, the Foundation's programs have been inadequately structured or well-defined to fundamentally challenge inequalities in the targeted societies and less relevant to their actual problems and potentials. Therefore, these programs have achieved short-term goals, with limited commitment to profound sustainable success.

ISSN

2324-755X

Publisher

Common Ground Research Networks

Volume

15

Issue

2

First Page

15

Last Page

30

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Civil Society Organizations, Education, Ford Foundation, Inequalities, Philanthropy

Scopus ID

85092017807

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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