When a group of people come together with a passionate goal and purpose, they are able to begin the development of social change. By initiating educational reform at a local level, unions and advocacy groups have the potential to create a chain reaction of national transformation. When a group of individuals passionate about a mutual topic, in this instance education, they have the power and strength to enact the change they seek and strive to achieve.
Although low-wage service sectors are not at the forefront of educational reform, they are beginning to take their first steps towards fighting for educational equality. Schools can fail to adhere to social equality due to a lack of information about educational opportunities and technology reforms, elements that can substantially impact a schools academic quality.[1] Low-wage unions are beginning to take strides forward in adapting academic structures by spreading awareness about hidden opportunities to parents of special needs.
Furthermore, low-wage unions can assist grassroots organizations in pursuing educational reform campaigns by providing the organizations with resources, relationships, knowledge, and skills.[2] Low-wage unions are starting to assist local schools around the country achieve social equality for all children with special needs.
In congruence with union schemes, community organizations are appearing throughout the county with the purpose of engaging in educational reform. Additionally, advocacy groups are rapidly growing in numbers throughout the United States. Advocates are able to achieve social change by publically recognizing societal flaws while remaining legitimate in the eyes of the public officials, the individuals who obtain the power to adhere to the desired reform.[3] Reformation success is dependent on there being a suitable political context in which the reform ideas can be accepted, the ideas about the social change are motivating for the involved advocates, and the strategies that the advocates implement are capable of driving change.
Community organizations have the ability to spawn educational reform, enabling equal opportunities for students with learning disabilities. By having unions adapt their priorities towards educational reform and the auxiliary voice of advocacy groups, educational reform can be achieved among urban public schools.
[1] Rogers, J. S., & Terriquez, V. (2009). “More Justice”: The Role of Organized Labor in Educational Reform. Educational Policy, 23(1), 221. doi:10.1177/0895904808328529
[2]Rogers, J. S., & Terriquez, V. (2009). “More Justice”: The Role of Organized Labor in Educational Reform. Educational Policy, 23(1), 225. doi:10.1177/0895904808328529
[3] Newman, A., Deschenes, S., & Hopkins, K. (2012). From Agitating in the Streets to Implementing in the Suites: Understanding Education Policy Reforms Initiated by Local Advocates. Educational Policy, 26(5), 730. doi:10.1177/0895904811417586
”More Justice”: The Role of Organized Labor in Educational Reform