Teachers' unions often say they go on strike to improve conditions for students. A closer look at recent walkouts suggests they are also fighting for something else: membership.
If you want to earn a high income in Australia, you’re often better off having no degree than having a bachelor degree in teaching.
Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images
The Uber driver walkout raises questions about how workers can fight for better pay and benefits in the age of the gig economy – a topic frequently on the minds of Conversation scholars.
Students listen to their teacher, Shuma Das, at the Sahabatpur Daspara Ananda school in Sahabatpur village, Bangladesh in 2016.
Dominic Chavez/World Bank
A presidential candidate wants to use federal funds to boost teacher pay. Is the proposal justified or is it just pandering to teacher unions to get votes? An education scholar provides perspective.
Nigeria has the world's highest number of out-of-school children and over 60 million of its citizens are illiterate. Here's what the country can do to improve its education sector.
Teachers, students and supporters rally in front of City Hall in Oakland, Calif., in February.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Teachers' unions often claim they are striking for better schools on behalf of students. A closer look at recent strikes suggests they are fighting for something else: membership.
Striking teachers are increasingly casting their struggle as being part of a broader struggle for social justice.
David Zalubowski/AP
The teacher strikes that have swept the US represent a new shift in teacher activism that has led teacher unions to align with broader social and racial justice movements, an education scholar says.
Denver public school teachers went on strike on Feb. 11 and successfully eliminated a controversial bonus-based pay system.
David Zalubowski/AP
Nathan Favero, American University School of Public Affairs
Through a three-day strike, Denver teachers got rid of a bonus-based pay system that they say was unfair. An education policy expert explains what the end of bonus-based pay means for Denver schools.
There need to be deeper reforms to teaching, such as higher pay at the top end, better opportunities for career advancement, and improvements to the professional working environment.
www.shutterstock.com
The teachers strike in Los Angeles is the first big one of 2019, but likely not the last. An education scholar says low teacher pay and inadequate public school funding will likely spur more strikes.
Teachers and students wave to motorists in Peoria, Ariz.
AP Photo/Matt York
Yes, money is one big reason. But teachers also just want to be heard like everyone else and are using methods that have been shown to be effective.
The programs are long and intense, the creativity and relationships aspect of the vocation has been eroded, there is pervasive negativity in the media, and comparatively poor salary and working conditions.
Shutterstock
There's been a drop in the number of people enrolling in teacher preparation courses. This is due to problems such as pay, professional autonomy, and a national obsession with standardised testing.
Oklahoma teachers rally outside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton/Reuters
The recent strike by teachers in West Virginia demonstrates larger issues with pay disparities for rural teachers.
If teachers are aware of the positive influence they have on their students and colleagues they might have higher levels of self-efficacy and work satisfaction.
Shutterstock