Decent Work for Teachers

Susan McGrath-Champ is Professor (Honorary) of Work and Employment Relations in the University of Sydney Business School, Australia. Her research interests lie in employment relations and human geography. She established the Teachers’ Work Research Team and has co-led an international research program that conducted landmark studies of school teachers’ work.Rachel Wilson is Professor of Social Impact in the Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Rachel’s research takes a system perspective on design and management of education systems and their workforces. Her expertise in research methods and programme evaluation has been deployed in researching and designing many school education reforms.Scott Fitzgerald is Associate Professor in the School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University, Australia. Scott’s research expertise spans sociology, political economy, media and communication studies. His research interests include industrial relations, human resource management and organisation studies focusing on changing governance, professionalism and work in the education sector.Meghan Stacey is Associate Professor and Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow 2025-2027 in the School of Education, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Meghan’s research interests are in the critical policy sociology of teachers’ work. Her most recent book is Analysing Education Policy: Theory and Method (Routledge, edited with Nicole Mockler).Mihajla Gavin, is Senior Lecturer in the Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. With expertise in employment relations, Mihajla’s research analyses teachers’ changing work and employment and teacher union strategies. She has previously worked as a senior officer in the Australian public service across workplace relations advisory, policy and project roles.Karolina Parding is Professor in the Human Work Sciences Division, Department of Social Sciences, Technology and Arts, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Karolina’s research focus lies at the intersection of sociology of professions and sociology of organisations. Karolina led an international collaboration grant which examined conditions surrounding teachers’ professional work.

With teachers presently under attack globally, Decent Work for Teachers identifies educational policies and labor practices that have led to the intensification of teachers’ work and precarious working conditions, and illustrates why workplace democracy and improving teachers’ working conditions are crucial to building the schools our students deserve.Rebecca Tarlau, Associate Professor of Education, Stanford University, author of Teacher Organizing Across the Americas: Diverse Strategies for Transforming Unions, Schools, and Societies, USAAgainst the backdrop of a global shortage of 44 million teachers, Decent Work for Teachers: Problems, Policies and Possibilities provides even more evidence of the respect for and investment needed in teachers' pay, working conditions and job security if we are to attract and retain the teachers our students need and deserve.Angelo Gavrielatos, Education International Campaign Manager, Go Public Fund Education. Former President NSW Teachers Federation and Federal President Australian Education Union, AustraliaAs Minister, I was often reminded that a teacher’s working environment is a student’s learning environment. This book is a further reminder to policy makers and school leaders that excessive workload and administrative demands must always be weighed against impact on learning.The Hon. Adrian Piccoli, Former NSW Minister for Education, AustraliaA much needed and comprehensive analysis of teaching as work and teachers as workers. This book will be of value to all who are interested in advocating for 'decent work' for teachers, as a foundational element for ensuring quality education for students.Howard Stevenson, Emeritus Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Nottingham, UKThis impressive, accessible volume draws on a decade of research to examine the impacts of neoliberalism, policy and social change on the work and workloads of teachers in Australia, Sweden, and beyond. Building on evidence to provide policy recommendations, the book has a broad appeal for researchers, professionals, and policymakers.Tracey Adams, Professor of Sociology, The University of Western Ontario, CanadaTeachers internationally are struggling to stay in the profession. This insightful and timely book provides a compelling argument for dignity in teachers’ employment, shared professional values, and the importance of teacher agency and voice.Professor Becky Taylor, Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Decent work for teachersChapter 2 Policy landscape: Devolution, autonomy and accountabilityChapter 3 What is teachers’ work?Chapter 4 Teachers under strain: Workload, work intensification and the ‘extensification’ of labourChapter 5 The problems of precarity: Job insecurity, policy and possibilities for decent teaching workChapter 6 Resisting policy: Teachers’ voices and their unionsChapter 7 Teaching as decent work: Possibilities for the future