Revealing the Role of Relative Deprivation in Activism Through the Narratives of Teacher Strike Leaders

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Reclaiming Our Roles: Teachers Redefining Leadership and Activism (Table 9)

Abstract

This project analyzes ways in which teachers experience relative deprivation and the role of relative deprivation in contemporary teacher protest strikes. It does this through data generated by 35 semi-structured interviews teachers who were also leaders in their local protest strikes. My findings show that striking teachers recognized that they were relatively deprived in comparison to 1) similarly-educated professionals due to sexism related to teaching being a feminized occupation; 2) teachers in other areas and 3) the past. However, the role of relative deprivation in their protest strikes was complex and only certain types played a role as a grievance. Nevertheless, relative deprivation was consistently useful as a highly-resonant framing strategy in teacher activism. My paper elucidates these findings.

Author

• Amanda J. Brockman, Northern Kentucky University
  Presenting Author