The Comparative Politics of Education: Teachers Unions and Education Systems Around the World

Public education is critically important to the human capital, social well-being, and economic prosperity of nations. It is also an intensely political realm of public policy that is heavily shaped by power and special interests. Yet political scientists rarely study education, and education researchers rarely study politics. This volume attempts to change that by promoting the development of a coherent, thriving field on the comparative politics of education. As an opening wedge, the authors carry out an 11-nation comparative study of the political role of teachers unions, showing that as education systems everywhere became institutionalized, teachers unions pursued their interests by becoming well-organized, politically active, highly influential - and during the modern era, the main opponents of neoliberal reform. Across diverse nations, the commonalities are striking. The challenge going forward is to expand on this study's scope, theory, and evidence to bring education into the heart of comparative politics.

Author: Terry M. Moe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 11/28/2016
Pages: 344
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.06lbs
Size: 9.13h x 6.06w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781316619766
ISBN10: 1316619761
BISAC Categories:
- Education | Comparative
- Political Science | Labor & Industrial Relations