EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION: THE ROLE OF PERSONNEL MANAGERS, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, AND UNIONS IN STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL SUCCESS
Considered as one of the most impactful changes in modern education, the relation between employers and education staff helps to define institutional climate, staff morale, and student effectiveness over time. The current study examines features and some peculiarities of private schools’employer-employee relationships with specific emphasis on the roles of the personnel administrators, professional associations, and teachers’ unions. Amid rampant policy and compliance mandates, expectations of teachers’ wellness and performance, and overall improvement in the strategic direction of private schools, the importance of effective personnel administration has never been more urgent. Based on human relations theory (Mayo), equity theory (Adams), and collective bargaining theory, the article integrates research from OECD (2021, 2022), UNESCO (2022), and Hargreaves and Fullan (2020) to demonstrate how trust and professional capital coupled with strong, collaborative, yet forgiving leadership builds and sustains healthy working conditions in schools.
Reflecting on the Harvard HRM Model and UNESCO’s Education Personnel Framework, this paper outlines a conceptual model that integrates policy objectives with action plans at the school level. It organizes findings related to teaching effectiveness and personnel planning, welfare of educational staff, and post-pandemic union and personnel management shifts into three key themes. In particular, the paper captures the balance of conflict and collaboration between school leaders and teaching staff (Bangs & Frost, 2020; Tuytens & Devos, 2021; Ng, 2021), often in private settings with limited union representation.
This article contributes to the discourse on employer-personnel relations as it details specific actions to be taken by educational leaders who wish to foster healthier and more sustainable relationships with their personnel. It also reaffirms the need for policies that position professional development, multi-level inclusion, dialogue, and decisive action at the forefront of critical teaching and education processes, thereby enhancing the retention of skilled educators.
Keywords: Employer-Employee Relations, Personnel Administration, Teaching Effectivenes, Professional Capital.
