Education Corporate Social Responsibility Partnership for Remote Area Schools: Are They Doing Well?

Although cross-sector alliances between public and private actors are recognized as a strategic approach to strengthening public sector development, including education, concerns about power imbalances remain, especially when one party has far greater economic and political capital. In developing countries such as Indonesia, this challenge is compounded by institutional and resource constraints in the era of regional autonomy. This qualitative study investigates the practices and dynamics of cross-sectoral CSR education partnerships for remote elementary schools around the world's largest coal mining area. The findings reveal “pseudo-partnerships” that perpetuate narratives of “declining” educational quality and reinforce unequal relationships between partners.