Unionization in the Public and Education Sector in Turkey, and Expectations of School Administrators and Teachers Expectations from Unions

This study aims to analyze the current state of unions of education, and to identify the expectations of teachers and school administrators in primary and secondary schools from their unions. the study was designed in quantitative methods. the sample of the study consisted of 661 teachers and managers working in 27 primary and 20 secondary schools in antalya province in the 2009-2010 academic year. the quantitative data were gathered by five-point likert scale, archive screening and document analysis. the analysis of data was conducted by calculating standard deviation, t-test, variance analysis, sheffe test, lsd tests and chi square. the results indicated that the rates of unionization increased both in public and private sectors. it was found that closeness to the political power had a positive effect on the number of members in the unions. moreover, teachers and school managers with promotion expectation tend to prefer unions close to the political power. teachers and school managers have low expectations for politicization. on the other hand, they have higher expectations from the unions about the protection of their rights, democratic management style, unity, and the development of their members.