This study explores the shifting roles of teacher unions in pre-and post-independence Namibia, against the backdrop of a changing political context. My aim was to understand the roles of teacher unions both before and after independence in Namibia, and to explain how they changed in the different political contexts. To do so, I examined the teacher union roles in three distinct phases, namely pre-independence, immediately post-independence, taking in the period from 1990 to 1999, and the last decade, from 2000 up until today. In approaching the research questions, I worked on the assumption that understanding and explaining the roles of teacher unions in pre- and post-independence Namibia could best be achieved by interacting with participants who were or had been involved in education and the teacher unions in Namibia. I argued that their experiences would be important in constructing knowledge on the unions, particularly regarding their roles before and after independence. I chose a narrative design for the study, because it allowed me to interact with the participants to gain deeper meanings from their individual perspectives. Narrative design was appropriate to this research, because it also allowed me to trace the way events in education mirrored those in the national political arena, and to explain why particular tendencies emerged. I used the information collected during the interviews and document analysis as the data for the study. Four themes emerged regarding the roles of teacher unions in the contexts of pre- and post-independence Namibia, around which I conceptualized the study. These were the shifting historic roles of these unions in Namibia, the institutional frameworks and modalities for union participation, the contextual factors relating to the roles of the unions, and the changed roles of the unions in contemporary Namibia. The findings of the study suggested, firstly, that teacher unions play different roles in different political contexts, and that these roles are shaped by contextual factors. Secondly, the research established that the unions in the post-independence contexts did not necessarily have a vision of a labour-driven process of radical strategic change, as postulated by the theory of strategic unionism. Instead, the findings suggest that teacher unions in contemporary Namibia are influenced and shaped by the broader political and social factors of a new hierarchical political culture, by political and economic middle-class aspirations, and by undefined party-government-teacher union relationships. I conclude the study by suggesting an expansion of the concept of strategic unionism to include the nuances of political and economic contexts and aspirations. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Historically, teachers’ unions have been some of the major organizational sites of social justice leadership in K-12 education (Kuehn, 2007; M. Murphy, 1990; Urban, 1982), but until the mid 1990s, the term “social justice unionism” (Peterson & Charney, 1999) had little currency in teacher union circles. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the concept of social justice unionism in context. In particular, I asked how teacher union activists contributed and responded to the institutionalization of social justice in their organization. I used a critical constructionist (Ball, 1987; Berger & Luckmann, 1966; D. E. Smith, 1987) perspective to analyze 25 career history (Goodson, 1994) interviews with teachers, staff and elected officials affiliated with the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation between 1967 and 2007, and found that successive generations of union-involved activists dedicated to labour solidarity, feminism, multiculturalism, anti-colonialism and anti-homophobia used networks of like-minded colleagues to counter bureaucratic norms within their organization, the education system and society. A qualitative depiction of these changes suggests that they were layered, multi-dimensional and uneven. They played out on a contested, uphill gradient shaped, but not determined, by four factors: the organizational prioritization of teacher welfare over social justice; historically persistent micro-political struggles between two federation caucuses; the centralizing tendencies of union leadership in response to the provincial government’s centralization of educational authority; and broader ruling relations in Canadian society. Still, despite this uphill gradient, all activist networks left a durable trace on federation history. The major significance of this finding for critical theorists and social justice activists is a modestly hopeful alternative to the traditional conceptions of change embedded in organizational theory: revolution, evolution or despair.

Historically, teachers’ unions have been some of the major organizational sites of social justice leadership in K-12 education (Kuehn, 2007; M. Murphy, 1990; Urban, 1982), but until the mid 1990s, the term “social justice unionism” (Peterson & Charney, 1999) had little currency in teacher union circles. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the concept of social justice unionism in context. In particular, I asked how teacher union activists contributed and responded to the institutionalization of social justice in their organization. I used a critical constructionist (Ball, 1987; Berger & Luckmann, 1966; D. E. Smith, 1987) perspective to analyze 25 career history (Goodson, 1994) interviews with teachers, staff and elected officials affiliated with the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation between 1967 and 2007, and found that successive generations of union-involved activists dedicated to labour solidarity, feminism, multiculturalism, anti-colonialism and anti-homophobia used networks of like-minded colleagues to counter bureaucratic norms within their organization, the education system and society. A qualitative depiction of these changes suggests that they were layered, multi-dimensional and uneven. They played out on a contested, uphill gradient shaped, but not determined, by four factors: the organizational prioritization of teacher welfare over social justice; historically persistent micro-political struggles between two federation caucuses; the centralizing tendencies of union leadership in response to the provincial government’s centralization of educational authority; and broader ruling relations in Canadian society. Still, despite this uphill gradient, all activist networks left a durable trace on federation history. The major significance of this finding for critical theorists and social justice activists is a modestly hopeful alternative to the traditional conceptions of change embedded in organizational theory: revolution, evolution or despair.

Submitted by Livia Mello (liviacmello@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-23T20:14:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseDMA.pdf: 9348264 bytes, checksum: 013715e883af69094e3c6e987887f8d8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-26T20:32:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseDMA.pdf: 9348264 bytes, checksum: 013715e883af69094e3c6e987887f8d8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-26T20:32:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseDMA.pdf: 9348264 bytes, checksum: 013715e883af69094e3c6e987887f8d8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-26T20:32:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseDMA.pdf: 9348264 bytes, checksum: 013715e883af69094e3c6e987887f8d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / Não recebi financiamento / This study discusses the mediations and distinctions between association and teacher union, from the unionism phase to the formation of the teacher unions APEOC and SINDIUTE, in Ceará. In the early phase of unionism in the late 1970s, besides the appearance of union leaders, there was the presence of associative model in public school teachers’ movement in Ceará, in APEOC, an organization founded in the 1960s, a period that demarcated the effervescence of associations in secondary school teaching. By the end of the 1980s, with the decline of that model, in the midst of the conformation of the teacher union, two union tendencies set up, which soon after would dispute the leadership in the movement. After the 1988 Carta Magna, with the concession of the right the employees in the civil service have to self-organization, two unions were founded aiming to represent the same category: teachers and civil servants from state and municipal schools in Ceará, and they would have a political and legal dispute for space in the union movement. APEOC/Union, a substitute of the Association, defended the tendency on a propositional unionism. SINDIUTE, in turn, was founded under the speech which proclaimed the defense of a militant unionism. In the face of their singularities, in relation to the national scenario, this research’s main aim is to examine the mediations and distinctions between association and unionism, in the process of foundation of APEOC and SINDIUTE teacher unions. Until then, the association’s role, in the unionism phase, constituted a branch rarely addressed to the literature of the area. Besides, there were a few studies about the associative phase in Ceará. Thus, this study has the following specific aims: to analyze the quantitative aspects of the academic production about association and teacher unionism, as well as the approaches present in the area; to investigate traces of the teacher associative stage and the context of expansion of secondary education in Ceará, and also the educational reforms in the 1970s; to reflect on the formation of the union trends from the unionism to the foundation phase of APEOC and SINDIUTE teacher unions. The field research was one of the supports documentary research, since this allowed a rapprochement with the research object, through sources collected over the period investigated. Our analysis focused on the period between 1962 and 1992. The first one is justified by the fact that it represents the moment of emergence of secondary teachers’ associative movement, during the phase of expansion of secondary education, period when APEOC was founded, the year 1992, on the other hand, marks the foundation of SINDIUTE. During the data collection we interviewed 10 teachers who participated in the movement’s leadership, and 4 teachers who worked in secondary school in the 1960s. The survey also included data collection from public libraries located in the city of Fortaleza. The data analysis showed the importance of educational reforms, including the Reform of 1st and 2nd grades, and leftist movements, during the teacher association’s stage in Ceará. Despite the decline of associative model in teaching movement in the 1980s, its legacy influenced the unionism phase, not only in the configuration of union trends, but also in consolidating APEOC/Union, as one of the major organizations in the state of Ceará. / O presente estudo discute as mediações e distinções entre associativismo e sindicalismo docente, da fase de sindicalização à fundação dos sindicatos APEOC e SINDIUTE, no Ceará. No início da fase do sindicalismo, no final dos anos 1970, além do surgimento de lideranças sindicais, houve a presença, no movimento dos professores públicos cearenses, do modelo associativo, na APEOC, entidade fundada na década de 1960, período que demarcou a efervescência do associativismo no magistério secundarista. Nos idos dos anos 1980, com o declínio deste modelo, no bojo da conformação do sindicalismo docente, se configurou a presença de duas tendências sindicais, que passariam a disputar a liderança do movimento. Após a Carta Magna de 1988, com a concessão do direito à sindicalização ao funcionalismo público, houve a fundação de dois sindicatos, voltados a representar a mesma categoria: professores e servidores dos colégios estaduais e municipais cearenses e, que fariam uma disputa político-judicial, pelo espaço do movimento sindical. A APEOC/Sindicato, sucedânea da Associação, defendia no campo sindical a tendência do sindicalismo propositivo. O SINDIUTE, por sua vez, foi fundado sob a égide do discurso que apregoava a defesa do sindicalismo combativo. Diante de suas singularidades, em relação ao cenário nacional, o estudo delimitou como objetivo central, examinar as mediações e distinções entre associativismo e sindicalismo, no processo de fundação dos sindicatos APEOC e SINDIUTE. O papel do associativismo, na fase de sindicalização, constituía uma dimensão, até então, pouco abordada pela literatura na área. Além disso, havia carência de trabalhos sobre a fase associativa no Ceará. Desta forma, a pesquisa teve como objetivos específicos: analisar os aspectos quantitativos da produção acadêmica sobre associativismo e sindicalismo docente, bem como os enfoques presentes na área; investigar traços da fase associativa docente no Ceará, no contexto de expansão do ensino secundário cearense e das reformas educacionais nos anos 1970; refletir sobre a formação das tendências sindicais da fase de sindicalização à fundação dos sindicatos APEOC e SINDIUTE. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se um estudo bibliográfico/documental e de campo. A pesquisa de campo teve como um dos suportes a pesquisa documental, uma vez que esta possibilitou uma aproximação com o objeto de pesquisa, por intermédio das fontes coletadas sobre o período investigado. O corte temporal compreendeu o período entre, 1962 e 1992. O primeiro justifica-se em virtude de representar o momento de emergência do movimento associativo dos professores secundaristas, na fase de expansão do ensino secundário, período de surgimento da APEOC, sendo o ano de 1992 o marco da fundação do SINDIUTE. Na coleta de dados foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 10 professores que participaram da liderança do movimento, e 04 professores que atuaram no ensino secundário na década de 1960. A pesquisa também contou com levantamento de dados nas bibliotecas públicas, localizadas na cidade de Fortaleza. A análise dos dados mostrou a importância das reformas educacionais, incluindo a Reforma de 1o e 2o Graus, e dos movimentos de esquerda, na fase do associativismo docente no Ceará. Apesar do declínio do modelo associativo no movimento docente nos anos 1980, seu legado teve impacto na fase de sindicalização, não somente na configuração das tendências sindicais, mas também na consolidação da APEOC/Sindicato, como uma das principais entidades do Estado do Ceará.

This study is based on a need for teacher union involvement in the management of schools to enhance effective teaching and efficient learning. The rationale behind it was to disclose the current perceptions of school managers concerning teacher union involvement in the management of schools in the Vryheid region, with a view to determining the extent to which their perceptions of teacher unions could be positively influenced to allow for proper consultative school management as well as active participation of teacher union members in the decision-making process. The study revealed that the school managers' perceptions and attitudes are central to teacher union involvement in the management of schools. If negative, no effective participatory school management can materialise. The role of the perceptions and attitudes of school managers in the realisation of the goal of participative school management is indispensable. The empirical survey and literature revealed that school managers are in a good position to address the serious shortcomings regarding the manner in which teacher unions are perceived in schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study is based on a need for teacher union involvement in the management of schools to enhance effective teaching and efficient learning. The rationale behind it was to disclose the current perceptions of school managers concerning teacher union involvement in the management of schools in the Vryheid region, with a view to determining the extent to which their perceptions of teacher unions could be positively influenced to allow for proper consultative school management as well as active participation of teacher union members in the decision-making process. The study revealed that the school managers' perceptions and attitudes are central to teacher union involvement in the management of schools. If negative, no effective participatory school management can materialise. The role of the perceptions and attitudes of school managers in the realisation of the goal of participative school management is indispensable. The empirical survey and literature revealed that school managers are in a good position to address the serious shortcomings regarding the manner in which teacher unions are perceived in schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

No description available.