Volume 25, Issue 98 (10-2025)
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ghaderzadeh O, Naseri F. (2025). The Teachers' :union: and the Struggle for Recognition. refahj. 25(98), : 7 doi:10.32598/refahj.25.98.291.4
URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4446-en.html
URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4446-en.html
Keywords: Institutional recognition, Disciplinary power, Restoring the status of teachers, School culture, Teachers', :union:.
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Felix, C.B.A. (2019). The Struggle for Recognition and the Professional Identities of Mathematics Teachers. In: Hannula, M., Leder, G., Morselli, F., Vollstedt, M., Zhang, Q. (eds) Affect and Mathematics Education (pp. 375-396). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13761-8_17
Faraji dana A, Maljou, M. (2005). Political Economy of Teachers’ Economic Demands: A Conceptual Framework. refahj. 4(15),233-266. http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-1911-fa.html
Honneth, A. (1996). The struggle for recognition: The moral grammar of social conflicts. MIT press.
Maljou, Mohammad (2006) Economic demands of the middle class in Iran: A case study of the teachers’ occupational group, Dialogue Journal, 46, 21-57. https://ensani.ir/file/download/article/20120326172005-3061-335.pdf(In Persian)
Scott,J.C.(2017).Domination and the arts of resistance: hidden transcripts(A. Khakbaz, Trans.). Markaz Publications. (Original work published 1990). (In Persian)
Shahriari, H. & Balaghi Inalu, E. (2023). Challenges of Teachers’ Political-Guild Action and Their Association (2020s). Research Letter of Political Science, 18(3), 163-198. https://doi.org/ 10.22034/ipsa.2023.492
Thomas,J.(1996).Doing Critical Ethnography.London:Sage Publications.
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Introduction
The focus of this research is on analyzing the activities of teachers’ :union:s and their struggle for recognition in the field of education. The unusual growth of private institutions, the de-authentication of knowledge, the abstraction of education from the local community, the lack of representation of diverse cultural and social identities in education, and the decline of material and symbolic status have forced teachers in Kurdistan to struggle.
The teachers’ :union: represents a key channel through which educators seek to address both their material needs and their struggle for professional recognition. This dual pursuit encompasses individual economic actions to meet livelihood demands and collective efforts within the :union: to advance their status and concerns in the educational sphere. Given the notable activism of the teachers’ :union: in Kurdistan Province, this study employs a critical ethnography approach to examine the experience of the Sanandaj teachers’ :union:. It specifically investigates the status of teachers’recognition within the education sector and analyzes how the :union: has organized a collective struggle for recognition in response to these challenges.
Method
The method employed in the current research is critical ethnography. “Critical ethnography begins with the premise that social and cultural structures and institutions make life unnecessarily unpleasant, violent, and inadequate for some people. Critical ethnography is about freedom from social oppression and imagining a better society. Research helps us to identify what oppresses and how it can be changed” (Thomas, 1996).
The field of study is the activists of the Sanandaj Teachers’ :union:. This organization has been active in Sanandaj for nearly two decades, and the scope of its activities has led to the establishment of teachers’ :union: organizations in other cities of the province. In this study, 33 :union: activists who had incurred large expenses were selected based on the sampling criteria of maximum diversity, theoretical sampling, and theoretical saturation. A decision was made on the number of participants, and based on this, 33 people were interviewed. In this study, semi-structured interviews were the main data collection tool. The proposed five-stage model of Carspecken was used to analyze the data.
Findings
According to the narrative of the :union: members, power has infiltrated the social structure and interactions in the field of education, and to bring teachers into conformity, power is used in “disciplinary”, “rewarding” and “conditional” ways, and the school culture has distorted the individual and social identity of teachers by constructing “compliant and committed teachers” and “simple-minded and contented teachers».
Teachers feel ignored and regret being teachers due to their absence from the decision-making system, lack of participation in the development of textbooks, and lack of management of the educational field. In such a context, “reviving agency in the field of education and society”,”the realization of civil rights” and “equality of opportunities” have become alternative values of the teachers’ :union:, and “awareness-raising”, “de-ideologizing the field of education”, “denial of the commodification of education” and “silent resistance” have shaped the forms of conflict of the teachers’ :union: organization.
Discussion
Despite the exercise of power, educational activists resist compliance mechanisms, and the teachers’ :union: is a symbol of resistance and struggle in the field of education; a struggle that, according to Axel Honneth, is ongoing and pervasive, and its goal is to recognize and acknowledge the institutional position of teachers and the need to redefine and reconstruct the rules of the field of education and redefine the position of teachers in the field of education.
The teachers’ :union: is a manifestation of teachers’ resistance and activism in the field of education. In such a context, the :union: seeks to present alternative values that differ from the values and ideas implicit in the school culture. The aforementioned values can be summarized in three categories: “reviving agency in the field of education and society”, “respecting civil rights”, and “equal opportunities”.
The role of inadequate professional recognition as a driver of :union: activism among teachers has been explored in prior research, including studies by Maljuo (2006), Faraji Dana and Maljou (2005), Felix (2019), and Shahriari and Balaghi Inalu (2023). Consistent with their findings, a lack of recognition, coupled with passivity and professional isolation, has been shown to yield negative consequences for the formation and sustenance of teachers’ professional identity. Axel Honneth (1996) also speaks of the struggle for recognition in systems of domination. A struggle that is ongoing, for example, in the field of education within the framework of :union: organization in order to recover the social and professional identity of teachers.
Ethical Considerations
The participants participated in the research with their consent and it was ensured that the audio files and participants’ details would not be made available to any person or institution. Due to ethical considerations, the names of the participants have not been mentioned.
Author contributions
The authors contributed to the design, execution, and writing of all research components.
Financial sources: This study is derived from a Master’s thesis completed at the University of Kurdistan. No specific grant from any funding agency was received for this research
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The focus of this research is on analyzing the activities of teachers’ :union:s and their struggle for recognition in the field of education. The unusual growth of private institutions, the de-authentication of knowledge, the abstraction of education from the local community, the lack of representation of diverse cultural and social identities in education, and the decline of material and symbolic status have forced teachers in Kurdistan to struggle.
The teachers’ :union: represents a key channel through which educators seek to address both their material needs and their struggle for professional recognition. This dual pursuit encompasses individual economic actions to meet livelihood demands and collective efforts within the :union: to advance their status and concerns in the educational sphere. Given the notable activism of the teachers’ :union: in Kurdistan Province, this study employs a critical ethnography approach to examine the experience of the Sanandaj teachers’ :union:. It specifically investigates the status of teachers’recognition within the education sector and analyzes how the :union: has organized a collective struggle for recognition in response to these challenges.
Method
The method employed in the current research is critical ethnography. “Critical ethnography begins with the premise that social and cultural structures and institutions make life unnecessarily unpleasant, violent, and inadequate for some people. Critical ethnography is about freedom from social oppression and imagining a better society. Research helps us to identify what oppresses and how it can be changed” (Thomas, 1996).
The field of study is the activists of the Sanandaj Teachers’ :union:. This organization has been active in Sanandaj for nearly two decades, and the scope of its activities has led to the establishment of teachers’ :union: organizations in other cities of the province. In this study, 33 :union: activists who had incurred large expenses were selected based on the sampling criteria of maximum diversity, theoretical sampling, and theoretical saturation. A decision was made on the number of participants, and based on this, 33 people were interviewed. In this study, semi-structured interviews were the main data collection tool. The proposed five-stage model of Carspecken was used to analyze the data.
Findings
According to the narrative of the :union: members, power has infiltrated the social structure and interactions in the field of education, and to bring teachers into conformity, power is used in “disciplinary”, “rewarding” and “conditional” ways, and the school culture has distorted the individual and social identity of teachers by constructing “compliant and committed teachers” and “simple-minded and contented teachers».
Teachers feel ignored and regret being teachers due to their absence from the decision-making system, lack of participation in the development of textbooks, and lack of management of the educational field. In such a context, “reviving agency in the field of education and society”,”the realization of civil rights” and “equality of opportunities” have become alternative values of the teachers’ :union:, and “awareness-raising”, “de-ideologizing the field of education”, “denial of the commodification of education” and “silent resistance” have shaped the forms of conflict of the teachers’ :union: organization.
Discussion
Despite the exercise of power, educational activists resist compliance mechanisms, and the teachers’ :union: is a symbol of resistance and struggle in the field of education; a struggle that, according to Axel Honneth, is ongoing and pervasive, and its goal is to recognize and acknowledge the institutional position of teachers and the need to redefine and reconstruct the rules of the field of education and redefine the position of teachers in the field of education.
The teachers’ :union: is a manifestation of teachers’ resistance and activism in the field of education. In such a context, the :union: seeks to present alternative values that differ from the values and ideas implicit in the school culture. The aforementioned values can be summarized in three categories: “reviving agency in the field of education and society”, “respecting civil rights”, and “equal opportunities”.
The role of inadequate professional recognition as a driver of :union: activism among teachers has been explored in prior research, including studies by Maljuo (2006), Faraji Dana and Maljou (2005), Felix (2019), and Shahriari and Balaghi Inalu (2023). Consistent with their findings, a lack of recognition, coupled with passivity and professional isolation, has been shown to yield negative consequences for the formation and sustenance of teachers’ professional identity. Axel Honneth (1996) also speaks of the struggle for recognition in systems of domination. A struggle that is ongoing, for example, in the field of education within the framework of :union: organization in order to recover the social and professional identity of teachers.
Ethical Considerations
The participants participated in the research with their consent and it was ensured that the audio files and participants’ details would not be made available to any person or institution. Due to ethical considerations, the names of the participants have not been mentioned.
Author contributions
The authors contributed to the design, execution, and writing of all research components.
Financial sources: This study is derived from a Master’s thesis completed at the University of Kurdistan. No specific grant from any funding agency was received for this research
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Felix, C.B.A. (2019). The Struggle for Recognition and the Professional Identities of Mathematics Teachers. In: Hannula, M., Leder, G., Morselli, F., Vollstedt, M., Zhang, Q. (eds) Affect and Mathematics Education (pp. 375-396). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13761-8_17
Faraji dana A, Maljou, M. (2005). Political Economy of Teachers’ Economic Demands: A Conceptual Framework. refahj. 4(15),233-266. http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-1911-fa.html
Honneth, A. (1996). The struggle for recognition: The moral grammar of social conflicts. MIT press.
Maljou, Mohammad (2006) Economic demands of the middle class in Iran: A case study of the teachers’ occupational group, Dialogue Journal, 46, 21-57. https://ensani.ir/file/download/article/20120326172005-3061-335.pdf(In Persian)
Scott,J.C.(2017).Domination and the arts of resistance: hidden transcripts(A. Khakbaz, Trans.). Markaz Publications. (Original work published 1990). (In Persian)
Shahriari, H. & Balaghi Inalu, E. (2023). Challenges of Teachers’ Political-Guild Action and Their Association (2020s). Research Letter of Political Science, 18(3), 163-198. https://doi.org/ 10.22034/ipsa.2023.492
Thomas,J.(1996).Doing Critical Ethnography.London:Sage Publications.
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Received: 2025/03/4 | Accepted: 2025/09/6 | Published: 2025/10/4
Received: 2025/03/4 | Accepted: 2025/09/6 | Published: 2025/10/4
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