Teachers’ Unions and Education Reform in Comparative Contexts

This volume considers the prevailing assumption that teachers' unions successfully block change in education because they are primarily motivated to protect members’ interests. It challenges the conceptualization of teacher union motivation and provides a more nuanced account of unions’ interests, power and impact. Through a series of international cases from the United States, Finland and the Canton of Zürich, it argues that a better understanding of the union-management relationship may be the key to securing more meaningful change and reform.