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Teachers, through their participation in labor unions, are widely regarded as a powerful interest group. A recent example of this power is teacher unions’ clashes with governments regarding resuming in-person learning during the global pandemic. But even before this unprecedented crisis, there was broad agreement among scholars and policymakers that teachers’ unions have had substantial influence on education policy including influencing reforms on the scale and scope of non-state actors in education.  

The 2024/5 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report will examine leadership in education, it will look at the visions and goals that are driving leadership in education and will examine the extent and through what practices the exercise of leadership contributes to better education outcomes. The Report will cover education leaders at three levels - the education institution level (schools, preschools, technical and vocational institutes, colleges and universities, and adult education centers), the education system level and outside the education system. 

A consultation on and with representatives of national teachers organizations will explore the role of unions in exerting influence and leadership on a multitude of themes from defending working conditions and scrutinizing reforms through to efforts to have a stronger role in setting national policy agenda. The dialogue will also highlight examples where unions have helped trigger changes in education and the enabling conditions (openness, transparency and accountability) necessary to influence policy change. 

The objectives of the consultation include: 

1. Share the early thinking of the GEM Report team in preparation for the 2024 GEM Report 
2. Learn from experts on the role of teachers in politics and policy in countries around the world including examples from Finland and Indonesia. 
3. Provide a space for participants to share experiences/identify examples of union influence at the national, regional and international levels, including challenges to contributing to policy discussions. 

Format: 

The session will take place in three parts. The first segment will include a presentation of the 2024 Report’s focus on the role and influence of unions followed by a panel discussion with representatives from Education International, education experts from Finland (an interesting example of union influenced policy reform) and representatives from the RISE project (who have conducted a into the influence of teacher unions on policy reform). 

A third segment will allow participants to share observations and experiences from their unique perspectives/experiences on teacher unions in action in response to the following questions: 

• Do you have experience in your country of where the interests and activities of teacher organizations are shaping educational reform? 
• What challenges hamper the ability of unions to contribute to policy dialogue at the national, regional and international level?

Confirmed speakers:

Christopher Chambers-Ju, University of Texas, Arlington 

Pasi Sahlberg, University of Melbourne

Priya Joshi, Senior Researcher, GEM Report (Moderator)