Exploring the Working-Lives of Unemployed and Underemployed Teachers in Ontario

248 Pages·2017·2.98 MB·English

Western University
ABSTRACT

This dissertation explores the working-lives of unemployed and underemployed
teachers in the Canadian province of Ontario. Over the past decade, the number of new
teachers unable to secure employment within the teaching profession in Ontario has
continued to grow. As the oversupply of teachers is expected to persist, an extremely
competitive labour market has made the position of being an un(der)employed teacher
increasingly “precarious” (Ontario College of Teachers, 2014, 2015).

However, such concerns must also be examined within the context of the contemporary
world of work and society. Standing’s (2011) understanding of precarious work and the
precariat provides a theoretical and conceptual framework from which to further
explore and interrogate the experiences of un(der)employed teachers in relation to
work, employment, unemployment, underemployment and precarity today. Through a
qualitative study of 24 teachers, the working-lives of un(der)employed teachers are
examined—specifically in relation to issues of precarious work, control, identity and
emotion.

Teachers revealed that precarious work and precarity have both become common
features of, and in, their work and lives as they navigate the labour market in Ontario.
Moreover, their work, employment relationships and social relations with teaching
appear to be distinctive from those in more traditional permanent teaching positions.
For all of these teachers, the inability to secure full-time, permanent employment in a
crowded teacher labour market was a shared experience. However, their challenges
with un(der)employment were not homogeneous, nor did they experience precarity in
the same manner. Changes in the nature of teaching work and employment reveal the
numerous ways in which many teachers’ working-lives have changed in Ontario and
warrant further consideration for issues surrounding educational equity, access and
st
quality in the 21 century.

Keywords: teachers; work; employment; unemployment; underemployment;
precarious; precarious work

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Before entering the faculty of education at Western University, I was provided the
insightful advice that I should make it my business to meet Katina Pollock when I
arrived. By chance, we soon met and became colleagues together on a number of
projects. As a supervisor, her efforts in bringing this research to fruition must be
acknowledged first and foremost, along with the wisdom and continuous support she
provided throughout my graduate journey. All of her future students should know that
they are in exceptionally capable hands.

Thank you to the numerous faculty members who pushed my thinking in new directions.
I would like to personally thank Rebecca Coulter for her insightful advice and support
with inception of this research idea and throughout my doctoral undertaking. Many
thanks to Greg Dickinson for his suggestions to improve the early stages of the thesis, as
well as to Melody Viczko for reading the thesis as it reached its final stages, and for
providing several noteworthy suggestions for improvement.

A special thanks to all those who took the time to review and critically examine my
work—Peter Sawchuk, Bill Irwin, Gus Riveros and Michael Kehler—your perceptive
comments, questions and suggestions for improvement are not only acknowledged but
also greatly appreciated.

I must also express my gratitude to all of my friends and critical colleagues who
provided both stimulating conservation and timely distraction whenever necessary.

Finally, thank you to all of the teachers who lent their time and voices to this thesis and
whose stories are shared within these pages.

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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to all of my M’s — IM, EM, JM, MP & AM — thank you for being
the very embodiments of kindness, support and love.

Without you, none of this would be possible.

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“Why are so many out of work,

when there is so much work to be done?”

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ii
DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xii
LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................ viii
ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. ix

CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1
Background to the Study ........................................................................................ 1
Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 3
Positionality ............................................................................................................ 6
Research Significance .............................................................................................. 8
Research Questions .............................................................................................. 12
Dissertation Outline .............................................................................................. 13

CHAPTER II – TEACHER EMPLOYMENT & UNEMPLOYMENT IN ONTARIO .................... 16
Teacher Employment in Ontario ........................................................................... 16
Teacher Unemployment in Ontario ...................................................................... 20
Teacher Un(der)employment & Precarious Employment .................................... 29
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 34

CHAPTER III – PRECARIOUS WORK & EMPLOYMENT .................................................. 35
The Changing Nature of Work .............................................................................. 35
Defining Precarious Employment ......................................................................... 38
Dimensions of Precarious Employment ................................................................ 40
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 50

CHAPTER IV – CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................ 52
Exploring Precarity ................................................................................................ 52
Precarity & Worker Subjectivity ........................................................................... 54
Un(der)employed Teachers & Precarity ............................................................... 57
The Precariat & The Study of Un(der)employed Teachers ................................... 58
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 69

CHAPTER V – METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 70
Critical Social Research ......................................................................................... 70
Qualitative Inquiry ................................................................................................ 71
Locating Un(der)employed Teachers .................................................................... 73
Interviewing Un(der)employed Teachers ............................................................. 75
Demographic Profile of Participants ..................................................................... 78
Analyzing Interviews ............................................................................................. 79
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 80
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CHAPTER VI – FINDINGS ............................................................................................ 81
Un(der)employed Teachers & Precarious Work ................................................... 81
Un(der)employed Teachers & Control ................................................................ 104
Un(der)employed Teachers & Occupational Identity ......................................... 119
Un(der)employed Teachers & Emotion .............................................................. 138

CHAPTER VII – DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 154
The Precarious Work of Un(der)employed Teachers ......................................... 154
The Control of Un(der)employed Teachers ........................................................ 162
The Occupational Identity(ies) of Un(der)employed Teachers .......................... 168
The Emotional Labour of Un(der)employed Teachers ....................................... 174

CHAPTER VIII – CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 182
Revisiting the Research ....................................................................................... 182
Future Research Directions ................................................................................. 186
Theoretical Contributions ................................................................................... 187
Implications for Policy & Practice ....................................................................... 188
Addressing Teacher Un(der)employment .......................................................... 191
Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 197

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 202

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 231

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure I
The Employment Arrangements of Teachers in Ontario Public Schools .......................... 20

Figure II
Teacher Employment and Ontario College of Teachers Membership (1997-2014) ........ 26

Figure III
Student Enrolment in Ontario’s Public Schools (1997-2014) ........................................... 30

Figure IV
Conceptual Framework: Exploring the Working-Lives of Un(der)employed Teachers .... 61

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A
Interview Guide ............................................................................................................... 231

Appendix B
Letter of Information ...................................................................................................... 232

Appendix C
Letter of Consent ............................................................................................................ 234

Appendix D
Letter to Teacher Federations ........................................................................................ 235

Appendix E
Research Poster .............................................................................................................. 236

Appendix F
Ethical Approval .............................................................................................................. 237

Appendix G
Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................. 238

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ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS

AEFO l’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens

AQ Additional Qualification
EA Educational Assistant
ECE Early Childhood Educator
ETFO Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
EI Employment Insurance
EQAO Education Quality and Accountability Office
FDK Full-Day Kindergarten
FTE Full-Time Equivalent
FTPC Full-Time Permanent Contract
IEP Individual Education Plan
LTO Long-Term Occasional
MOE Ministry of Education
NTIP New Teacher Induction Program
OCT Ontario College of Teachers
OECTA Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association
OTF Ontario Teachers’ Federation
OTPP Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
OSSTF Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
PTPC Part-Time Permanent Contract
STO (OT) Short-Term Occasional (Occasional Teacher)

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