The 2012 Chicago Teachers Union Strike: A Theory-Driven Analysis of Policy Actors and Networks

• In Event: Governance, Markets, and Teachers Unions: Political (Dis)Engagement in Education

Abstract

While recent scholarship has focused on new actors in the education policy arena, less is known about how these new actors interface with traditional policy actors and interest groups, particularly under circumstances of conflict over education policy. Applying an updated framework of conflict theory, we analyzed policy actor interactions and their outcomes from the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union strike. Our single case study yielded three major findings: the presence of both pragmatic, local conflicts and diffuse ideological conflict, the impactful involvement of diverse actors, and the pivotal role of actors’ “challenger” positioning. Implications discussed include those for teacher and public sector organizing, public education policy formation and change, and the understanding of an increasingly crowded education policy landscape.

Authors

• Kate L. Phillippo, Loyola University Chicago

• Melissa Fisher, Loyola University Chicago

• Joseph J. Ferrare, University of Washington - Bothell