An Examination of Public Discourse about Teachers’ Collective Bargaining Rights in a Portfolio School District

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

Employing an institutional logics framework and critical discourse analysis, this study examines stakeholder discourse in a feedback meeting on a Denver Public School proposal to extend teachers’ collective bargaining rights in district innovation schools. Findings explain the logics shaping how teacher unions and collective bargaining agreements are understood by proponents of autonomous schools and portrayed to the public via media. Results highlight how power and status connections enabled groups to influence board revisions toward market-oriented reform while positioning bargaining rights as a threat to autonomy’s “best for kids.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Institutional logics and critical discourse analysis

Stakeholder feedback and media portrayal

Power, status, and policy revision

Market-oriented reform and autonomous school narratives

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | | | Volume 31 Number 121 | November 7 , 2023 | | ISSN 1068-2341 | An Examination of Public Discourse about Teachers’Collective Bargaining Rights in a Portfolio School District Anna L. Noble University of Colorado Boulder United States Citation: Noble, A. L. (2023) . An examination of public discourse about teachers’ collective bargaining rights in a portfolio school district. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 31 (121) . [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.8029](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.8029) Abstract: Employing an institutional logics framework and critical discourse analysis, this study examines the discourse of participants in a stakeholder-feedback meeting about a proposal by the Denver Public School board to extend collective bargaining rights to teachers in the district's innovation schools. The findings provide insight into the logics that control how teacher unions and collective bargaining agreements are understood by proponents of autonomous schools and portrayed to the general public through media. The analysis explores how connections to power and status allowed some stakeholder groups to influence the board to revise the policy to one more favorable toward market-oriented school reform. In this case, the dominant narrative that emerged from the stakeholder feedback cycle was one in which the collective bargaining rights of teachers were positioned as a threat to autonomous schools’ ability to provide “what's best for kids” in their classrooms. Keywords: critical discourse analysis; institutional logics; autonomous schools; collective bargaining agreements Un examen del discurso público sobre los derechos de negociación colectiva de los docentes en un distrito escolar Resumen: Empleando un marco de lógica institucional y un análisis crítico del discurso, este estudio examina el discurso de los participantes en una reunión de retroalimentaciónde las partes interesadas sobre una propuesta de la junta escolar de DPS para extender los derechos de negociación colectiva a los maestros de las escuelas de innovación del distrito. Los hallazgos brindan información sobre las lógicas que controlan cómo los defensores delas escuelas autónomas entienden los sindicatos de docentes y los convenios colectivos y los presentan al público en general a través de los medios de comunicación. El análisis explora cómo las conexiones con el poder y el estatus permitieron que algunos grupos departes interesadas influyeran en la junta para revisar la política y adoptar una más favorable a la reforma escolar orientada al mercado. En este caso, la narrativa dominante que surgió del ciclo de retroalimentación de las partes interesadas fue aquella en la que los derechos de negociación colectiva de los docentes se posicionaron como una amenaza a la capacidadde las escuelas autónomas de ofrecer “lo mejor para los niños” en sus aulas. Palabras-clave: análisis crítico del discurso; lógicas institucionales; escuelas autónomas; acuerdos colectivos de negociación Um exame do discurso público sobre os direitos de negociação coletiva dos professores em um distrito escolar Resumo: Empregando um quadro lógico institucional e uma análise crítica do discurso, este estudo examina o discurso dos participantes numa reunião de feedback das partes interessadas sobre uma proposta do conselho escolar da DPS para alargar os direitos denegociação colectiva aos professores nas escolas de inovação do distrito. As conclusõesfornecem informações sobre as lógicas que controlam a forma como os sindicatos de professores e os acordos de negociação colectiva são compreendidos pelos proponentes deescolas autónomas e retratados ao público em geral através dos meios de comunicação social. A análise explora como as ligações ao poder e ao estatuto permitiram que alguns grupos

FAQs

What research approach does the study use?

The study uses an institutional logics framework and critical discourse analysis to examine how participants described and justified policy changes in the stakeholder-feedback meeting.

What policy change is the focus of the stakeholder discussion?

The discussion centers on a proposal from the Denver Public School board to extend teachers’ collective bargaining rights in the district’s innovation schools.

How did stakeholders influence the board’s eventual policy direction?

The findings indicate that connections to power and status allowed some stakeholder groups to influence the board to revise the policy in a direction more favorable to market-oriented school reform.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca