Curriculum

Johns Hopkins Forges Ed. Industry Partnership

By Jason Tomassini — March 06, 2012 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Johns Hopkins University School of Education and the Education Industry Association, a trade group, are partnering to develop curriculum, research, and business-development programs around education entrepreneurship.

The goal is to help prepare the next generation of business leaders in education and improve the relationship between the public and private sectors, leaders of the two entities said.

“We have to leverage every sector of the [education] business,” Henry Smith, the executive director of the office of partnerships for educational transformation at Johns Hopkins, said in an interview. “There’s a $4 billion business here that’s been ignored by the education industry. We are no longer ignoring it.”

As part of the venture, announced Feb. 23, Hopkins will establish a new Doctor of Education program and an education business “incubator,” and it will provide independent research for education companies. The EIA, along with its members, will help develop curriculum, commission research, and offer access to top executives and officials working in private and public K-12 education.

“It’s a chance for future students to learn at the elbows of seasoned entrepreneurs who have the battle scars of public-private partnerships,” Steve Pines, the executive director of the EIA, said in an interview. The group, based in Vienna, Va., represents more than 300 organizations, including education management organizations, publishers, consultants, and online education companies.

Framing Research Questions

Students can already enroll for the “revamped” three-year, part-time Ed.D. program, which begins at Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, next fall. New courses about the education industry will be offered, and existing curricula in history, policy, and finance will be given an entrepreneurship and business focus, Mr. Smith said. Courses will be offered online and in person.

The partnership is also taking aim at a muddy area of education: research into for-profit education initiatives. Johns Hopkins, a leading private research university, will provide research—independently, Mr. Pines and Mr. Smith stressed—to EIA members looking for performance data or insight on their products and services.

A lack of reliable data is often cited as a barrier to greater cooperation between public education and for-profit companies. Mr. Smith said that, in most cases, the relationship with education businesses will help frame the right questions for Johns Hopkins researchers, who will initiate their own studies.

James G. Cibulka, the president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, in Washington, said the “boundary-spanning” partnership is a good idea that represents recent innovations in education. But it is important that the parameters of any research resulting from the partnership be clearly stated, he said.

“It’s important to establish clear policies and procedures that, as much as possible, separate out advocacy research from research which purports to be independent and objective,” he said.

Coverage of the education industry and K-12 innovation is supported in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A version of this article appeared in the March 08, 2012 edition of Education Week as Johns Hopkins Forges Ed. Industry Partnership

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum In Their Own Words Why I Kept Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird When Others Wouldn't
A recently retired English teacher explains why she continued to teach the classic novel after it was challenged in her district.
6 min read
Retired teacher Ann Freemon is pictured in Everett, Wash., on November 24, 2023.
Retired teacher Ann Freemon is pictured in Everett, Wash., on November 24, 2023.
Chona Kasinger for Education Week
Curriculum More States Require Schools to Teach Cursive Writing. Why?
Technological advances notwithstanding, advocates give a long list of reasons for teaching students cursive.
5 min read
Photo of child practicing cursive writing.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Computer Science Courses Are on the Rise—But Girls Are Still Half as Likely to Take It
Schools expanded the availability of foundational computer science classes, but stubborn gaps in access to those courses persist.
4 min read
Photograph of diverse group of primary school students using laptops in a bright classroom.
E+/Getty
Curriculum Many States Are Limiting How Schools Can Teach About Race. Most Voters Disagree
A majority of polled voters want students to learn about the history of racism and slavery in the United States and its legacy today.
4 min read
The "statue" of Michelle Obama, played by Kaylee Gray, talks to students during Black History Month's wax museum at Chestnut Grove Elementary School in Decatur, Ala., on Feb. 27, 2020. Instead of the usual assembly, Chestnut Grove students played the roles of famous black and white people who contributed to the civil rights movement and black people who have made significant contributions to history.
The "statue" of Michelle Obama, played by Kaylee Gray, talks to students during Black History Month's wax museum at Chestnut Grove Elementary School in Decatur, Ala., on Feb. 27, 2020.
Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP