A TYPOLOGY OF TEACHER ACTIVISM
| Pages | 138-147 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009858 |
| Published date | 01 February 1982 |
| Date | 01 February 1982 |
| Author | J.F. McMORROW |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XX, NUMBER 2 SUMMER, 1982
A TYPOLOGY OF TEACHER ACTIVISM
J. F. McMORROW
The categorization of different manifestations of teacher activist behaviour is the
central focus of this paper. Evidence for the analysis is obtained from interviews with
teacher activists and from an extensive period of participant-observation within an
Australian teachers' organization. A matrix of nine categories of activism is
described in which teacher unionists are classified according to the strength of their
identification with the union ("Us") or the union leadership's internal and external
opponents ("Them") during a period of intense political and industrial conflict. Some
of the personal and attitudinal characteristics of the groups of activist teachers so
described are discussed in general terms. The study presents a more complex picture
of teacher activism than is implied by the more usual classifications of "left", "right"
and "moderate". The conclusions drawn might also provide material for more
extensive research, perhaps of an empirical nature, into teacher involvement in
various forms of political and industrial activism.
Teacher participation in various forms of direct political and industrial
action is now an accepted part of the Australian educational landscape. As
a result, interest in the characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of politically
active teachers has heightened.
Teacher activism in Australia has generally been portrayed in an
organizational context in terms of the wide range of membership
characteristics and predispositions for factionalism and, in some States,
fragmentation within organizations.1 These factors are thought to underlie
the more obvious manifestation of membership disunity which has hitherto
generally been characteristic of teacher unionism in Australia. Teachers
have also played a prominent part in the development of a more active
role for white collar unions in the Australian union movement in recent
times.2
The literature on teachers' political activism has generally focussed on
the description and analysis of teachers' organizations as pressure groups.
These studies, deriving much of their intellectual inspiration from various
approaches to pressure group theory, have investigated the politics of
teachers' pressure from a number of perspectives, including antecedent or
environmental influences,3 the manifestations of pressure group
behaviour4 of which teachers' strike action is undoubtedly the most
prominent.5 and the impact or outcome of that behaviour.6 Interestingly,
the consensus of the latter studies would seem to support a sceptical
hypothesis of teacher union effectiveness,7 which might be in contradiction
J. F. McMORROW
is
Director of
the
Education Planning Group in the Australian Department
of Education. He holds the degrees of B.Ec. (Syd.), M.Ed. and Ph.D. (Qld).
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