Teachers Union Involvement in Educational Policy Making: Issues Raised by an In-Depth Case

Existing arguments that support increased teachers union involvement in educational policy making assume that collective bargaining is the most important means, or the most legitimate means, by which teachers unions exert influence within the educational policy arena. This article provides an in-depth examination of a wide variety of traditional and emergent techniques that one teacher organization has employed during the 1990s as means of influencing provincial educational policy. The circumstances and reasoning that gave rise to specific influence techniques is included. A typology of educational policy influence techniques with their strengths and limitations is provided. The case raises issues that have important implications for governments, departments of education, and teachers unions in North American contexts.