Perspectives of Alberta Charter School Teachers on Unionization and Professionalization

• In Event: 77.015 - Canadian Educational Researchers' Association

Abstract

Believing that school choice would lead to improved educational opportunities, publicly funded charter schools in Alberta, Canada were created by the Alberta legislature in 1994 . While many aspects of the legislative regime defining Alberta charter schools are the same as public schools, charter school teachers are not automatically members of The Alberta Teachers' Association (the ATA). Since 1994, teachers in five Alberta charter schools voted to join the ATA to bargain collective agreements with their school boards. Using Strauss’ (1978) negotiating order theory and qualitative case study design, my research examined how charter school teachers’ views as teaching professionals were influenced by becoming ATA members. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers from unionized charter schools and a review of the collective agreements established at the charter schools. The findings of my study suggest that in the Alberta context: (a) unionization was perceived as a mechanism that enabled charter school teachers to earn status and respect as professionals; (b) unionization established a more secure employment relationship for charter school teachers; and (c) unionization solidified charter school teachers as a collective body of professionals.

Author

• Lisa Everitt, Alberta Teachers' Association