Teacher Professionalism from the Margins: The Policies and Politics of Education Governance in England and Sweden

Teachers have a vital role in ensuring a quality education for all. However, education systems across the globe face growing teacher shortages. Without urgent action, this teacher gap will have significant repercussions for the sustainability of the profession and education more broadly.

Teacher policies designed to tackle recruitment and retention crises vary by country. Moreover, teacher unions’ capacities to influence such reforms can differ considerably with implications for teachers’ work and professionalism. Yet, there is limited comparative research on teacher policy from the perspective of those involved in, or marginalised from, its development. Teacher Professionalism from the Margins addresses this knowledge gap by engaging critically with the policies and politics of two key policy documents in England and Sweden. Supported by interviews with former politicians, civil servants, academics, and trade union officials, it analyses the dominant discourses of teacher professionalism and highlights the epistemic status of various policy actors involved in their construction. Revealing teacher unions’ marginality, it advocates for their increased involvement in the development of policies oriented towards improving the attractiveness of the teaching profession.

This book gives teachers and union officials an insight into the education policies which affect their work today. Drawing on state theory, feminist epistemology, critical linguistics, sociology of the professions, and organisation and management studies, it offers researchers and students new theoretical perspectives on professionalism and policy development. Ultimately, Teacher Professionalism from the Margins questions whether democratic engagement through political institutions is possible for unions and wider civil society.

Alison L. Milner is a researcher at Aalborg University, Denmark. Her research interests include teachers’ work and professional development, education policy, and comparative education. She has conducted inquiry on social dialogue between education unions and employer organisations across Europe. Prior to working in higher education, she was a teacher in England and Sweden.