Theorizing Knowledge in Teacher Activism: The Ethical Philosophies of Educators Organizing for Social Justice

• In Event: 53.079 - Navigating Work: Considering Context, Conflict, Ethics, and Activism in Teachers' Labor

Abstract

This paper traces the ethical dimensions of teacher organizing within a national network of teachers’ unions. As a critical policy study, this project centers the perspectives of participants, using the methodology of activist network ethnography to explore how organizers use ethical frameworks throughout their work. It finds that teacher organizers draw on the following ethical frameworks to frame, guide, and evaluate their work: care, democracy, justice, and solidarity. It highlights the ways that teachers define and operationalize these frameworks, bringing them into dialogue with theories in the philosophy of education, critical policy studies, and educational studies. In this way, this study contributes to each of these traditions as well as enhancing our understanding of the knowledge underlying social actions.

Author

• Lauren Stark, University of Virginia