Corporate social responsibility and neo-social accountability in education: The case of Pearson plc

The focus of this chapter is the recent business strategy of the world’s largest edubusiness, Pearson plc. While the spotlight is on Pearson, our analysis is about a much broader phenomenon, namely the emergence of edu-businesses as aspiring public policy actors globally. We are specifically interested in how Pearson has reconstituted its mission, and we look at their new business strategy and the reframing of their educational work in terms of its efficacy. Pearson now describes itself as having a social responsibility to improve learning outcomes for its “customers,” running together neo-liberal accountability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to frame education as “good business,” in terms of both profit and improving people’s lives