Partnering power questions posed from governmentality

Over the last two decades, waves of education reform have swept across Canada and other Western countries, leaving a mass of critical scholarship in their wake. Prominent within this literature are critiques of what is perceived as the marketization of public education. Beyond obvious instances of corporate involvement, critics highlight the proliferation of seemingly benevolent tactics that arguably contribute to a market-oriented remodelling of education. It is from this perspective that educational partnerships have been scrutinized. Characterized by an agreement between a business or organization and a school, these arrangements have been praised by school boards, politicians, and business leaders as forms of schoolcommunity engagement. In this respect, they hold particular appeal in a new focus upon collaboration within education. Nevertheless, critics warn that partnerships actually represent a form of covert privatization, and a substantial threat to democracy.