ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the acknowledgement of the importance of teacher unions as the collective professional and industrial voice of teachers and to a progressive rethinking of educational policy and for effective opposition to contemporary neoliberal policy developments in education. Research is central to the effective work of teacher unions. The chapter deals with elation that the (Irish National Teachers Organisation) INTO has a director of research. There are actual and desired relationships between teacher unions and research. Lori Beckett has been a passionate and committed advocate of a professional model of teacher as researcher and the importance of academic researchers working in partnerships with teachers around improvement agendas. In Teachers and Teacher Unions in a Globalised World, John Carr and Lori Beckett have created an interesting and particular archive or annals of the history and politics of the INTO. They also demonstrate how the INTO has been able to adapt adroitly to changing political contexts since its inception in 1868.
