Global Teacher Organizing and Union Resistance to Neoliberal Education Reforms

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Globally, there has been a resurgence in teacher unionism. With this increased activism, there has been a polarizing debate about the effects of unions on schools. However, there is little research on the day-to-day operation of unions. In this panel, we will present case studies of teacher unions that are contesting what we refer to as “neoliberal educational reform efforts.” Examining union organizing efforts in Latin America, the U.S., Africa, and Europe, the panelists will examine how the reform context in each country transforms local organizing efforts, and the impact of teacher organizing on reform trajectories. This research will contribute to education scholarship by analyzing the role of teacher organizing in educational policy-making and how these dynamics change across contexts.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Teachers Work/Teacher Unions

Chair

• Lois Weiner, New Jersey City University

Papers

• Seven Challenges for Teacher Union Renewal - Nina Bascia, University of Toronto - OISE; Howard Stevenson, The University of Nottingham

• The Struggle Over Teachers' Professional Autonomy in Mexico - Paul Bocking, Toronto District School Board 

• The São Paulo Teachers Union, Educational Change, and Political Strategy in Brazil - Rebecca Tarlau, Pennsylvania State University

• You're the Top: Reflections on Transformational Union Leadership - Barbara Madeloni, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Discussant

• Lois Weiner, New Jersey City University