"Teach Our Children Better". Legislated Educational Reform and National Education Association Af
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 1996 The Plea of the Land: "Teach Our Children Better". Legislated Educational Reform and National Education Association Affiliates: Stakeholder Reports in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania Phyllis Fox Catz University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Labor History Commons, and the Unions Commons Recommended Citation Catz, Phyllis Fox, "The Plea of the Land: "Teach Our Children Better". Legislated Educational Reform and National Education Association Affiliates: Stakeholder Reports in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania" (1996). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1535. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1535 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1535 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Plea of the Land: "Teach Our Children Better". Legislated Educational Reform and National Education Association Affiliates: Stakeholder Reports in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania Abstract Since the 1983 publication of A Nation at Risk, our country has engaged in an educational reform movement. This study examines the intervening years of National Education Association (NEA) state affiliatee k y members' activities and attitudes in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania involved with state-legislated educational reform. A neglected issue in A Nation at Risk is teacher unionism on reforms. Exploratory field study conducted (1988-89) unearthed salient issues. Five major variables considered in selection of states studied include: known unionism level; reform degree undertaken legislatively since 1983; value ascribed and citation frequency of reform; accessibility of significant players; and Elazar's state political cultures' category: moralistic, individualistic, or traditionalistic. Including return 1995 site visits, more than fifty people interviewed revealed state NEA affiliate involvement for construction or obstruction in legislated educational reform. A major question of this study is "What are the involvements and/or impacts of the National Education Association's affiliate groups in or on legislated reform policy decisions in three states?" The findings in three politically and educationally different states may prove significant ot researchers and "reformers" who want to optimize forward movement. The analysis of selected cases articulates detrimental or helpful patterns and processes in making educational improvements in regard to NEA affiliate groups' involvements. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Education First Advisor Charles Dwyer Keywords teacher unions Subject Categories Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Labor History | Labor Relations | Unions This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1535 THE PLEA OF THE LAND: ” TEACH OUR CHILDREN BETTER” Legislated Educational Reform and National Education Association Affiliates: Stakeholder Reports in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania Phyllis Fox Catz A DISSERTATION in Education Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1996 lervisor of DissertSuqj Graduate Grounf Chairperson Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COPYRIGHT PHYLLIS FOX CATZ 1996 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION This dissertation would not have been possible without those to whom it is dedicated with my love: Sanford Catz, my husband and friend for your persistence, patience, prodding, pushing, and your belief in the possibility and in me; Sheryl Catz, my first bom daughter for your understanding, wisdom, and counsel as you share the fruits of your own education; Ellen Catz Ramsey, my daughter and sometime clone for your encouragement, chiding, and willingness to celebrate with me; To the memories of: Sam "Red" Fox,my union-member father for your kitchen-table debating which first taught me to think for myself; Ruth Pollas Fox,my loving, supportive mother for your open-armed acceptance and your insistence that I should be a teacher so that I could be there for the children; and"Anut" Harriet Pollas for teaching me that "education is the way up and out!" and making certain that I had the college degree that you could not have... Thank you! Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My heartfelt gratitude goes to: Dr. Charles Dwyer, the chair of my committee who has stuck with me to the completion of this dissertation; Dr. Charles Perry, the originator of the subject for this project who started me off on my travels; Dr. Harris Sokoloff, my first encourager at the University of Pennsylvania who has guided me on many paths; The many people who graciously allowed me to interview them and record their words here; My "cheering section" of friends, family, and former students who have urged me on and helped me in a thousand ways. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The Plea of the Land: "Teach Our Children Better" Legislated Educational Reform and National Education Association Affiliates: Stakeholder Reports in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania Phyllis Fox Catz Dr. Charles Dwyer Since the 1983 publication ofA Nation at Risk, our country has engaged in an educational reform movement. This study examines the intervening years of National Education Association (NEA) state affiliate key members' activities and attitudes in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania involved with state-legislated educational reform. A neglected issue inA Nation at Risk is teacher unionism on reforms. Exploratory field study conducted (1988-89) unearthed salient issues. Five major variables considered in selection of states studied include: known unionism level; reform degree undertaken legislatively since 1983; value ascribed and citation frequency of reform; accessibility of significant players; and Elazar's state political cultures' category: moralistic, individualistic, or traditionalistic. Including return 1995 site visits, more than fifty people interviewed revealed state NEA affiliate involvement for construction or obstruction in legislated educational reform. A major question of this study is "What are the involvements and/or impacts of the National Education Association's affiliate groups in or on legislated reform policy decisions in three states?" The findings in three politically and educationally different states may prove significant to researchers and"reformers" who want to optimize forward movement. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The analysis of selected cases articulates detrimental or helpful patterns and processes in making educational improvements in regard to NEA affiliate groups' involvements. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................................ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.............................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1 ......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Background .......................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2 ....................................................................................................................... 20 Research D esign................................................................................................... 20 Site and Sample Selection .................................................................................. 21 CHAPTER 3 ....................................................................................................................... 35 Literature Review ................................................................................................. 35 1. Teacher Unions and State Level Involvement.............................................. 36 2. Political and Organizational Theories to understand state educational reform s:...................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 4 ....................................................................................................................... 51 Findings in the Field............................................................................................ 51 Framing Question 1. What are or have been the major legislatively initiated educational reforms in the three states since 1983? ............................ 52 EIA of South Carolina............................................................................. 54 Minnesota's Access to Excellence ........................................................