Marketization, Branding, and the Political Economy of EdTech


This project investigates the growing marketization of education and the intensifying role of the EdTech industry in shaping how educational problems—and their “solutions”—are framed. Through a critical analysis of advertising, sponsored content, industry reports, and corporate communication, the project examines how big tech companies position themselves as indispensable actors in educational reform. It explores how branding strategies, commercial narratives, and promotional discourses construct authority, legitimacy, and urgency in the field, often blurring the boundaries between reporting, advocacy, and marketing. By analyzing a decade of EdTech advertising and industry trend reports, the project reveals how technocapitalist agendas promote market-friendly visions of learning, normalize privatization, and influence policy and institutional decision-making. Ultimately, it seeks to understand how commercial interests shape educational priorities, values, and the imagined futures of schooling.