Teachers' Unionization, Socioeconomic Status, and Student Performance in the United States

Autor/inn/en	Han, Eunice S.; Maloney, Thomas N.
Titel	Teachers' Unionization, Socioeconomic Status, and Student Performance in the United States
Quelle	In: American Journal of Education, 128 (2022) 2, S.281-325 (45 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0195-6744
DOI	10.1086/717673
Schlagwörter	Unions; Academic Achievement; Socioeconomic Status; Socioeconomic Influences; School Districts; Correlation; Collective Bargaining; Social Class; Tests; Scores; Elementary Secondary Education; Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schulleistung; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; School district; Schulbezirk; Korrelation; Tarifverhandlung; Social classes; Soziale Klasse; Examination; Prüfung; Examen
Abstract	Purpose: This article examines the relationship between teacher unionization and the academic performance of students in districts of varying socioeconomic status (SES). We aim to answer the following research questions: Do union effects vary with the SES of districts? Are these effects more (or less) pronounced in high-SES, mid-SES, or low-SES districts? Research Methods/Approach: We merge two nationally representative data sets from the United States: the School and Staffing Survey and the Stanford Education Data Archive. We measure union strength with the presence of collective bargaining contracts (CB) or meet-and-confer agreements (MC). We employ propensity score matching. Considering CB (MC) as a treatment, we define districts with CB (MC) as the treated units and no agreement districts as the nontreated units. Findings: We find that middle-class districts with CB agreements had higher average test scores, in all grades and both math and English, than did districts with similar propensity scores but no CB agreement in place. Neither low-SES nor high-SES districts exhibited significant effects of CB on math or English scores. The pattern in MC effects is quite similar. MC agreements are correlated with higher scores in both subjects in all grades in middle-class districts. Implications: Our results indicate generally positive effects of teachers' unions on student performance on standardized tests. Moreover, these positive effects are concentrated in middle-class US school districts. A decline in the ability of teachers to organize may therefore have differentially negative effects on the outcomes of students in these districts. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01