Teacher Voice in Saskatchewan
Date
2024-07-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Doctoral
Abstract
Teacher voice, defined as a meaningful inclusion of teachers or their union in decision-making in school systems, provides a perspective on educational policy that is not often utilized in policy research (Diem et al., 2019). However, teacher voice can illuminate insights on policy in the classroom. This study aims to investigate the inclusion or exclusion of teacher voice in a specific policy, the Education Sector Strategic Plan 2014 – 2020 in Saskatchewan, and then determine if their perceptions of inclusion affected the implementation of the policy in the classroom. As a secondary research area, the research attempts to discover if neoliberalism influenced teachers' involvement in decision-making. Critical discourse analysis was used to inspect relevant documents and interview transcripts within a critical policy structure that separated policy into three stages: development, delivery, and implementation. Policy delivery is the preparations for implementing policy such as professional development. Teacher voice was found not to be included at any stage of the policy and there were indications of neoliberalism in the documents and transcripts. Teacher participants described increased time required for the assessments under the policy and felt the consequences of a managerial structure of decision-making. Both of these neoliberal elements limited teachers’ professional judgement and opportunities for voice. The research can be useful for teacher unions and partners in education desiring to make policy more inclusionary.
Description
Keywords
teacher voice, educational policy, neoliberalism, public education
Citation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
Educational Foundations
Program
Educational Foundations