Counter from the Cathedra: Democratic School Workers Association Redefining Teachers' Political Agency in Finland 1973-1989

Autor/in	Räisänen, Mirka
Titel	Counter from the Cathedra: Democratic School Workers Association Redefining Teachers' Political Agency in Finland 1973-1989
Quelle	In: Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 50 (2014) 4, S.533-553 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0030-9230
DOI	10.1080/00309230.2014.899373
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Teacher Associations; Educational History; Secondary School Teachers; Content Analysis; Politics of Education; Progressive Education; Story Telling; Models; Social Systems; Activism; Praxis; Theory Practice Relationship; Finland + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Lehrerorganisation; Lehrerverband; Lehrervereinigung; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Inhaltsanalyse; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Reformpädagogik; Progressive Erziehung; Analogiemodell; Social system; Soziales System; Aktivismus; Politischer Protest; Theorie-Praxis-Beziehung; Finnland
Abstract	Finnish school teachers are unlike their colleagues in many countries, for their ethos and skills have traditionally formed the basis for a profession which has been very loyal to the state and to the changing educational ideologies of the government. Critical historical periods of wars and social revolutions have, however, produced--to a small degree--different kinds of tendencies. This article discusses the political agency of comprehensive and upper secondary school teachers by looking at a particular point of rupture in the Finnish "master narrative" of a neutral and impartial teacher image. As an example of a counter-narrative, the paper presents a small leftist teacher association called the Democratic School Workers Association (Demko) which existed between 1973 and 1989. Demko's manifesto texts are analysed with the help of A.J. Greimas' actantial model in order to find the possible kind of political agency that is constructed for teachers. The analysis shows a major change between the 1970s and 1980s. The early Demko narrative draws from the vocabulary of the neo-leftist student movement, inviting progressive teachers to join the "common struggle". Demko aims at lobbying the more established political actors, whereas individual agency is shackled by the ideals of monolithicity and unanimity. In the 1980s, along with the fading of societal radicalism, Demko's narrative evolves into a more polyphonic space for identity debates. Political agency is transferred from the collective to individuals who are supposed to critically reflect Demkoian ideals against their everyday praxis. All in all, Demkoian narrative is interpreted as having enriched the gamut of "possible discourses" in the era of the early Finnish comprehensive school. With its distinctively socio-political orientation, Demko tested the boundaries of the political agency of Finnish teachers. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10