Publications

Read Now

March 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Technical Note

Technology Innovations in K-12 Education

By: John J-H Kim, Roniesha Copeland and Christine S. An

This background note on technology innovations in education offers a market overview of the edtech sector and discusses trends, common challenges, and criticisms encountered in exploring edtech ventures. The note introduces the promise of educational technology as it... View Details

22 Sep 2015
News

Investing in Scalable Impact on K-12 Education

their broader educational philanthropy goals to improve learning outcomes and also increase access to quality education. What we are looking to do is support entrepreneurs and invest in companies that we think can make a very scalable... View Details

October 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Background Note

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Trends in China K-12

By: John J-H Kim, Haibo Zhao and Shu Lin

This note provides a brief survey of the major entrepreneurial and innovation trends in China’s K-12 education landscape, using trends in public policy as background, but focusing on opportunities available for the private market. The note first provides a brief... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Education; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Education Industry; China

28 Sep 2015
News

Harvard Researchers Envison Better Business, Nonprofit Cooperation in K-12

26 Mar 2019
News

New Professorship in Education and Data Sciences Announced

Keywords: K-12

July 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Sampark Foundation: Transforming Primary Education in India

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Shweta Bagai

Founders Vineet and Anupama Nayar had rapidly scaled their foundation to reach 3 million primary school children (grades 1 to 3) in two states with math and English programs. Their goal was to reach 10 million children by 2025 and completely spend down the $100 million... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Management; K-12 Education; Frugal Innovation; Government Partnership; Impact; Developing Countries; Education; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Outcome or Result; India

April 2022
Case

Connecting Students in Chattanooga (A)

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Manjari Raman

As COVID-19 hit and school buildings closed across America in the spring of 2020, tens of thousands of K-12 students in Chattanooga’s Hamilton County lacked the high-quality Internet service required to connect them to remote education. Bryan Johnson, superintendent... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; Pandemic; COVID-19; Accessibility; Education; Urban Development; Wealth and Poverty; Online Technology; Education Industry; Tennessee

September 1998 (Revised September 2001)
Case

IBM's Reinventing Education (A)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Describes IBM's national innovation strategy to transform K-12 public education through new solutions developed by IBM engineers and consultants using information technology. Examples are: data warehousing in Broward County, FL schools, tracking software for the... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Innovation Strategy; Information Technology; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Education Industry; San Jose; Philadelphia; Ohio; Florida

Find at Harvard

November 2023
Case

Riiid: Scaling AI Educational Services Globally

By: John Jong-Hyun Kim, Nancy Dai and Ruru Hoong

This article explores the definition and evolution of AI, its applications in education, and the role of AI, particularly in K-12 education. It discusses the founding of Riiid, an AI-driven educational technology company, and its journey in the education sector, with a... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Economic Sectors; Technological Innovation; Education Industry; South Korea; Asia

January 2002
Case

IBM's Reinventing Education (B): West Virginia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

Describes IBM's ongoing Reinventing Education initiative to improve K-12 public education via information technology developed by IBM's engineers and consultants. Focuses on one site, West Virginia, to reveal how IBM and the state created a mutually beneficial... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Education Industry; West Virginia

05 Nov 2019
News

How the Future of Work Will Heap New Pressure on K-12 Companies

11 Jul 2017
Blog Post

Summer Snapshot: Interning in the Education Sector

summer, I'm interning at KIPP, a public charter school network that aims to lower the achievement gap in K-12 education by serving underserved communities. I'm currently working on two projects: developing a... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

April 2022
Supplement

Connecting Students in Chattanooga (B)

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Manjari Raman

Keywords: K-12 Education; Pandemic; COVID-19; Accessibility; Education; Urban Development; Wealth and Poverty; Education Industry; Tennessee

June 2023
Teaching Note

Connecting Students in Chattanooga (A) and (B)

By: Jan W. Rivkin

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 722-449 and 722-451. As this case opens, it is the spring of 2020 in Chattanooga. COVID-19 has hit, public schools have closed their buildings, remote learning has begun, and more than 28,000 schoolkids lack the high-quality Internet... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; Pandemic; COVID-19; Accessibility; Education; Urban Development; Wealth and Poverty; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Education Industry; Tennessee

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Public Education Goes to School

years, we've produced sixteen teaching cases, two conceptual notes, and a working paper. Q: The performance problems of U.S. public education are receiving growing attention. How are urban schools performing in terms of student... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark; Education

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

SEK: Reimagining Spanish Higher Education at Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC)

By: John J-H Kim, Mary C. Sauer and Emilie Billaud

In 2023, Nieves Segovia, President of the SEK Education Group in Spain, contemplates the future of her family's for-profit education company, which includes K-12 schools and the newly established UCJC university. Renowned for its innovation in education, SEK faces... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Curriculum and Courses; Higher Education; Teaching; Digital Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Succession; Resource Allocation; Organizational Structure; Education Industry; Europe; Spain

Forthcoming
Article

Government, Business and Making China an Educational Powerhouse Since the 1980s

By: Geoffrey Jones, Yuan Jia Zheng, Yuhai Wu and Qianru Wang

This article examines how China successfully built a highly competent K-12 education system since the 1980s achieving high literacy rates, broad basic education and gender equality. It argues that this success was driven by a strategy of blending public and private... View Details

Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Secondary Education; Literacy; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Business and Government Relations; Policy; Education Industry; China