2. Methodology

This report is based on a desk study and a series of remotely conducted interviews. We began by constructing an initial model of ‘trade union renewal’ or ‘trade union transformation’ to be considered by teachers’ unions in the AsiaPacific, drawing on (a) the academic literature on the principles of trade union renewal, trade union renewal in the education sector, and trade union renewal across a range of different sectors in the Asia-Pacific, as well as (b) prior research conducted for EI by Bascia and Stevenson (2017). We then refined this model after conducting qualitative fieldwork with (a) leaders of ten teachers’ unions in Fiji, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and with (b) branch officials and (c) union members from four teachers’ unions in Fiji, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Case studies of Fiji, India and the Philippines, which critically assess how and in what forms and shapes ‘trade union renewal’ or ‘trade union transformation’ has taken place, appear in Appendices A, B, and C. Country-wise, case selection was made in consultation with EIAP and took into consideration countries’ strategic importance for EI and EIAP.

We conducted interviews of between one and two hours with individual union leaders via Zoom in October–November 2020. For a sub-set of countries, we also interviewed groups of 2–3 branch officials and 2–3 ordinary members drawn from geographically diverse areas, as well as with groups of women and younger members. We also interviewed the EIAP regional coordinator and a former EI campaigns director, who now heads a major teacher’s union in Australia. Interviews were conducted in English, with the exception of interviews involving members and officials from the Indonesian Teachers Association (which were conducted in Indonesian by Professor Ford) and India (where interviews were conducted in a mixture of English and Hindi, with the support of an interpreter). We asked our informants about demographic characteristics and internal structures and activities (internal structures, goals, visions, practices and policies and services to members) of their teachers’ unions; the political and education context in which they operate; their role in different national settings; and shifts in their role and context over time. Interview data was supplemented by a desk study of EI’s regional reports and union documents, as well as relevant publicly available materials.