Early childhood development (ECD), from birth to 6, occupies an ambivalent space within a system ranging from birth to 9. Professional Early Childhood Development Associations and Unions (ECDAUs) are important structures to elevate early learning issues in the context of building quality ECD systems. This article explores issues that ECDAUs…

Despite decades of Equal Opportunity legislation, gender inequality persists in Australian universities. This is largely due to the shaping of universities by new market principles, discourses of individualisation that render the asymmetry of gender relations invisible, and privileging masculine epistemologies. Concurrently, industrial relations…

On October 16, 2017, over 12,000 faculty, librarians, and counsellors in 24 independent postsecondary colleges in Ontario, Canada went on strike for the fourth time since they organized in 1971 as members of the Civil Service Association of Ontario and won their first collective agreement the next year. Begun as an apolitical, self-consciously…

Teacher unions worldwide are being criticized for disregarding their responsibility as professionals towards education and students. Critics have claimed that teacher unions tend to protect incompetent teachers, place their own needs and interests above their students, and continuously demand for financial increases even when there is more urgency…

Sweden has experienced increasing educational inequity levels within its highly decentralized school system. With a reduced capacity to bargain collectively, the two Swedish teacher trade unions, the Swedish Teachers' Union (Lärarförbundet) and the National Union of Teachers in Sweden (Lärarnas Riksförbund), have sought to extend their role in…

This article is the first study investigating New Zealand's early legislation in apprenticeship from the perspective of historical institutionalism. It shows that, between 1865 and the 1940s, New Zealand's apprenticeship system was less liberal in character than it is today, because a collective skill formation regime, involving dual training, was…

The further education (FE) sector in England has experienced two decades of marketisation. This article takes as its focus the first five years of incorporation (1993-1998) for one case study college in a city ("Coppleton") in the West Midlands of England, five years that were dominated by a contract dispute. Data from interviews with…

While the South African Constitution enshrines both children's right to a basic education and teachers' right to strike, conflict between these two often occurs when the way in which teachers' unions conduct strike actions detracts from learners' education. This article identifies the parties affected by industrial action in the school context,…

This article argues that the model of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in use at the Workers' College in South Africa may be seen as a form of "radical pedagogy." Drawing on documentary sources, focus group interviews with staff, and observations, it describes an educational philosophy which aims to build the competencies of activists…

In 2002, approximately two thirds of school teachers in the Canadian province of Alberta went on strike. Drawing on media, government and union documents, this case study reveals some contours of the political economy of labor relations in education that are normally hidden from view. Among these features are that the state can react to worker…

The concept of Educational Ambassadors is embedded within the so-called "Danish model" of industrial relations. The Danish industrial relations system is characterised by strong collective organisations with national coverage, which conclude the collective agreements for various industries or sectors and which are mostly grouped under…

A key feature of current school-sector reform in England is the restructuring of teachers' work and the increased use of support staff to undertake a range of activities previously undertaken by teachers. Supporters speak of a new teacher professionalism focused on the "core task" of teaching. Critics fear deprofessionalization through a…

Discusses the labor movement in Latin America from its beginnings at the end of the nineteenth century to the present. (JOW)

Discusses the argument that Australian trade unions, because they are created by the state, are dependent on state for membership, authority, power, and the provision of industrial conditions. Subjects the explanation of the origins of the movement to empirical analysis and focuses on the key role ascribed to the actions of the early Industrial…

Involvement of employees and unions in workplace decision-making has a long history in Australian industrial relations. The mechanism for employee involvement in workplace change was originally set out in the Termination Change and Redundancy (TCR) clause in Australian awards in 1984. It continues to operate under Enterprise Bargaining Agreements…