College of Education

Kathleen Knight Abowitz (Miami University) will be joining us on 4/22 (10:00am Room 242) to discuss her current paper in progress: “First Among Equals”: The Roles of Teachers in Educational Publics.

Abstract:

Building capacities for parents and communities to become more involved in the governance of their public schools (Knight Abowitz, 2013) raises a number of conflicts for those advocating greater teacher professionalism. This paper discusses the tensions between democratic governance and some conceptions of both teacher professionalism and teacher activism. The paper articulates a rationale for viewing teachers as “first among equals” (Strike, 1993) in the deliberation and decision-making processes of public education.