Research On The Private Foundations' Role And Impact On The Education Of America

Nobody can study the role and the function of private foundations in the evolution of American education without peculiar reality of American society, in which there is high developed market economy, multi-politics, and welcomed non-government organizations by the republic. Generally speaking, Americans usually turn to all kinds of non-government agency instead of the government since they believe that they can solve any problems by themselves, which is affected by the idea of a small government and a big society. Accordingly many kinds of non-profit organizations have been established and bloomed fast, and one representative of them is private foundations. Many of non-profit organizations can play important role because the system of American education is administered by state government separately. All levels of American education couldn't develop so well without having a close relationship with private foundations because of their donation.American higher education can't develop so fast without the donation and support from nongovernment organizations including foundations. The donation from foundations, which has been important source for all kinds of higher education organizations, has long-term effect on American higher education. Firstly, it not only helped some early Academies survive and develop, but also helped research universities improve through supporting the researches full of venture. Furthermore, it helped Academies and its staff gain independence by funding the researchers, as well as helping the practical matters be solved out by supporting some educational plans. Secondly, the foundations provided a lot of staff and students of higher education campuses with much money and other resource, helped to renovate and improve buildings, libraries and infrastructures of universities. Foundations supported American higher education through two ways; one is to fund for strengthening educational system, the other is to fund for educational reform. The fund embodied several practice, such as elite tendency, cooperation, long-term effect, diversities. Foundations also affected educational policy and becamean imporatan assistant of policy-making. 1972 HEA's success testified the impact from committee of Carnegie, which is subordinated to Carnegie corporation. Compared with higher education,Foundations paied attention to high schools and elementary schools, including developing of curriculum, libraries' renovation, school reform, plans outside school and early education, The resource from foundations help to improve the quality of school reform and school education. Foundations' practice has many characteristics, such as helping the disadvantages and educational research and propagandization.Private foundations have affected the improvement of American education through donation to certain plans or programs, education research, schools, students, school reform, especially affected education policy's making. Private foundations not only have had much impact on the quality of teachers through the accreditation, the criterion of entering higher education through the tests, the development of research university through supporting its research, setting up new subject through endowment, and also expanded their effect through their circulatory personnels among the government , education and commercial realm. In a word, no comment could deny the contribution of private foundations to facilitating the advancement of the USA's education.