The Future of Education

With nearly 3.2 million public school teachers in the United States and nearly all of them having some sort of membership in the national teachers’ union, the National Education Association, some serious consideration needs to be given to the thoughts and perceptions of those teachers and what the teachers’ union does for them and their students. When Wisconsin entered the national spotlight in 2010 surrounding mandatory unionism, teachers, parents, communities, and stakeholders from across the state shared their informal thoughts about the union. The purpose of this case study, which used a qualitative methodology, was to explore how public-school teachers perceive the influence of teachers’ unions on student achievement. The conceptual framework used critical systems theory and included 27 anonymous teachers from Wisconsin who answered questions in an online questionnaire, 15 anonymous teachers also from Wisconsin who participated in telephone interviews, and a review of archival data. The over-arching question was, “What perceptions do Wisconsin public school teachers have on the possible influence of the teachers’ union on student achievement?” The findings of the study revealed four themes. Public school teachers in Wisconsin perceive (1) very little to no influence from the teachers’ union on student achievement, (2) a systems influence that may lead to an indirect influence on student achievement, (3) an influence in pedagogy and teaching strategies, and (4) political activity from the union that affects teaching.

Keywords: teachers’ union, union, Wisconsin, WEAC, NEA, teacher perceptions, teachers, student achievement, public school.

References:
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