Technocapitalism and corporate pervasiveness in educational technology governance:

Abstract

This study examines how corporate actors have become increasingly embedded in the governance of educational technology policies within Brazilian state public education systems and interrogates the limits and displacements that this dynamic imposes on so-called public-private partnerships. While digital education policies are often framed through discourses of innovation, collaboration, and technical cooperation, educational technology companies, digital platforms, and private consultancies have progressively become structuring agents in the implementation of educational policy. Grounded in the concept of technocapitalism, this article understands digital education as a strategic frontier for the reconfiguration of the public sphere through market-oriented logics. The study draws on interviews with representatives from 23 state departments of education and on the analysis of their respective Digital Education and Pedagogical Innovation Plans, combining content analysis with a critical-discursive approach to examine how corporate participation is legitimized and normalized within institutional discourses. The analysis highlights how corporate actors become positioned as essential mediators of digital education policy, influencing governance structures, technical expertise, and the boundaries between public and private responsibilities. The article argues that these arrangements exceed conventional understandings of public-private partnerships and reflect broader technocapitalist transformations in contemporary education governance.