Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-fqc5m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T17:14:03.132Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Teacher Unions in England: The End is Nigh?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2016

Susanne Wiborg
Affiliation:
UCL Institute of Education
Terry M. Moe
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
Susanne Wiborg
Affiliation:
University College London
Get access

Summary

Introduction

In striking contrast to organised teachers in Europe and the USA, the teacher unions in England have had a substantial amount of power removed from them during the last 30 years. Their power was brutally cut by Margaret Thatcher during her long premiership from 1979 to 1990, a blow from which the unions have never recovered. They lost access to policy formulation and their national bargaining rights were abolished. Prior to Thatcher, the teacher unions were an influential force in education politics, reaching their zenith of power in the 1960s and 1970s. The ‘iron triangle’ between organised teachers, local authorities and central government, which were in full operation throughout these two decades, enabled teacher unions to become intimately involved in education policy at both national and local levels. Their powerbase was primarily concentrated at a local level, given that local authorities have been responsible for the planning and provision of education since 1944. Following Margaret Thatcher's arrival, a raft of policies were introduced to dismantle this ‘iron triangle’ and in its place the government launched a system which was, on the one hand, governed by a centralisation of power and, on the other hand, marketisation of education. Central government would thus control the framework within which schools would compete with one another for resources, teachers and students, and thus by extension, higher standards.

This substantial reorganisation of English education is significant and has been subjected to a large number of studies seeking to understand why and how this change was brought about, along with its long-term effects. The dominant explanation provided by this literature is the political will of Margaret Thatcher and her forceful education secretaries, most notably Kenneth Baker; the reinvention of Victorian laissez-faire individualism; and the spreading of global neo-liberal ideology and austerity which were crucial in pushing through reforms (Ball 1990, 2008; Chitty 2004; Simon 1991; Tomlinson 2005; Whitty 1989, 2008).

However, the existing academic writing fails to add any analytical value to the fact that the curbing of vested interests opposing change resulted for the most part in rapid policy implementation. The Conservative government undermined the key institutional structure within which the teacher unions were closely integrated: the local authorities. This simply opened the gates for radical reform.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Comparative Politics of Education
Teachers Unions and Education Systems around the World
, pp. 56 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Avis, J. (2011) More of the same? New Labour, the Coalition and education: Markets, localism and social justice. Educational Review 63(4), pp. 421–38.
Ball, S.J. (1990) Politics and Policy Making in Education: Explorations in Policy Sociology. London: Routledge.
Ball, S.J. (2008) The Education Debate. Bristol: Policy Press.
Bara, J., and Budge, I. (2001) Party policy and ideology: Still New Labour? Parliamentary Affairs 67(2), pp. 590–606.Google Scholar
Barber, M. (1992) Education and the Teacher Unions. London: Cassell.
Beck, J. (2009) Appropriating professionalism: Restructuring the knowledge base of England's ‘modernised’ teaching profession. British Journal of Sociology of Education 30(1), pp. 3–14.Google Scholar
Beck, J. (2010) Governmental professionalism: Re-professionalising or de-professionalising teachers in England? British Journal of Educational Studies 56(2), pp. 119–43.Google Scholar
Benn, C., and Chitty, C. (1997) Thirty Years On: Is Comprehensive Education Alive and Well or Struggling to Survive, 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Benn, C., and Simon, B. (1972) Half Way There: Report on the British Comprehensive School Reform, 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Budge, , I. (2001) Mapping Policy Preferences. Estimates for Parties, Electors, and Governments 1945–1998. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chitty, C. (2004) Education Policy in Britain. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Coates, R.D. (1972) Teachers’ Unions and Interest Group Politics: A Study in the Behaviour of Organised Teachers in England and Wales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cooper, B., ed. (1992) Labor Relations in Education: An International Perspective. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Dolton, P., and Robson, M. (1996) Trade union concentration and the determination of wages: The case of teachers in England and Wales. British Journal of Industrial Relations 34(4), pp. 539–55.Google Scholar
Dolton, P., Makepeace, G., and Marcenaro-Gutierrez, O. (2010) Public Sector Pay in the UK: Quantifying the Impact of the Review Bodies. Mimeo.
Dolton, P., McIntosh, S., and Chevalier, A. (2003) Teacher pay and performance, Institute of Education, Bedford Way Papers.
Fitz, J., Halpin, D., and Whitty, G. (1993) Education in the Market Place: Grant Maintained Schools. London: Kogan Page.
Fitz, J., Taylor, S., Gorard, S., and White, P. (2001) Local Education Authorities and the regulation of educational markets: Four case studies. Occasional Paper, Cardiff University.
Furlong, J., McNamara, O., Campbell, A., Howson, J., and Lewis, S. (2008) Partnership, policy and politics: Initial teacher education in England under New Labour. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 14(4), pp. 307–18.Google Scholar
Gorard, S. (2005) Academies as the ‘future of schooling’: Is this an evidence-based policy? Journal of Educational Policy 20(3), pp. 369–77.Google Scholar
Gosden, P. (1972) The Evolution of a Professional Union. London: Basil Blackwell.
Green, A. (1990, 2013) Education and State Formation. Europe, East Asia and the USA. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hatcher, R. (2011) The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government's ‘free schools’ in England. Education Review 63(4), pp. 485–503.Google Scholar
Higham, R. (2013) Free schools in the Big Society: The motivations, aims and demography of free school proposers. Journal of Education Policy 29(1), pp. 122–39.Google Scholar
Hinton, J. (1983) Labour and Socialism. A History of the British Labour Movement 1867–1974. Norfolk: Wheatsheaf Books Ltd.
Ironside, M., and Seifert, R. (1995). Industrial Relations in Schools. London: Routledge.
Jones, K. (1985) The National Union of Teachers (England and Wales). In Lawn, M, ed., The Politics of Teacher Unionism. International Perspectives. London: Croom Helm.
Moss, G. (2004) Changing practice: The National Literacy Strategy and the politics of literacy policy. Literacy 38(3), pp. 126–33.Google Scholar
NUT (2014) www.teachers.org.uk
OECD (2010) Education at a glance 2010. OECD indicators. OECD.
Rhodes, R.A.W. (1992) Local Government Finance. In Marsh, D. and Rhodes, R.A.W., eds, Implementing Thatcherite Policies. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Rhodes, R.A.W. (1997) Understanding Governance. Policy Networks, Governance, Reflexibility and Accountibility. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Robinson, W. (2002) Historical reflections on the 1902 Education Act. Oxford Review of Education 28(2,3), pp. 159–72.Google Scholar
Salter, B., and Tapper, T. (1981) Education Politics and the State: The Theory and Practice of Educational Change. London: Grant McIntyre.
Saran, R. (1992) The History of Teachers’ Pay Negotiations. In Tomlinson, H., ed., Performance-Related Pay in Education. London: Routledge.
Seifert, R.V. (1987) Teacher Militancy: A History of Teacher Strikes 1896–1987. London: Falmer Press.
Simon, B. (1965) Education and the Labour Movement, 1870–1920. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Simon, B. (1974) The Politics of Educational Reform, 1920–1940. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Simon, B. (1991) Education and the Social Order, 1940–1990. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Stevenson, H. (2007) Restructuring teachers’ work and trade union responses in England: Bargaining for change? American Educational Research Journal 44, pp. 224–39.Google Scholar
Stevenson, H., and Carter, B. (2009) Teachers and the state: Forming and re-forming ‘partnership’. Journal of Educational Administration and History 41(4), pp. 311–26.Google Scholar
Thompson, D. (1927) Professional Solidarity Among Teachers of England. New York: Columbia University Press.
Tomlinson, S. (2005) Education in a Post-Welfare Society. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Tropp, A. (1957) The School Teachers. London: Heinemann.
Vlaeminke, M. (2000) The Higher Grade Schools: A lost opportunity. London: Woburn.
West, A. (2014) Academies in England and independent schools (fritstående skolor) in Sweden: Policy privatization, access and segregation. Research Papers in Education.Google Scholar
West, A., and Bailey, E. (2013) The development of the Academies programme: ‘Privatising’ school-based education in England 1986–2013. British Journal of Educational Studies 61(2), pp. 137–59.Google Scholar
West, A., Mattei, P., and Roberts, J. (2011) Accountibility and sanctions in English schools. British Journal of Educational Studies 59(1), pp. 41–62.Google Scholar
Whitty, G. (1989) The New Right and the National Curriculum: State control or market forces? Journal of Educational Policy 4(4), pp. 329–34.Google Scholar
Whitty, G. (2008) Twenty years of progress? English education policy 1988 to the present. Educational Management Administration & Leadership 36(2), pp. 165–84.Google Scholar
Wiborg, S. (2015) Privatising Education: Free School policy in Sweden and England. Comparative Education Review 59(3), pp. 473–97.Google Scholar
Wragg, E. (2004) Performance Pay for Teachers. The Views and Experiences of Heads and Teachers. London: Routledge Falmer.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×