An Analysis of the Relationship Between Teacher Collective Bargaining Activities and Altered Managerial Behavior in Selected Illinois School Districts
Erck, Wayne Martin
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68845
Description
Title
An Analysis of the Relationship Between Teacher Collective Bargaining Activities and Altered Managerial Behavior in Selected Illinois School Districts
Author(s)
Erck, Wayne Martin
Issue Date
1983
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Educat.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Administration
Abstract
This study describes and analyzes the impact of teacher collective bargaining activities in four selected Illinois school districts on the decisions made by school administrators in those districts. Specifically, this work analyzes the impact of collective bargaining on: (a) managerial decision-making, (b) contract administration, and (c) middle management authority.
The review of related research on the impact of collective bargaining on administrator decisions suggested the value of a developmental framework. This framework proposed that the impact of bargaining on administrators changed over time; early bargaining conflicts centered on the issue of the recognition of teachers' rights to organize and to bargain collectively. A second stage then developed in which good faith bargaining occurred, and teacher groups made substantial gains. The third stage, which some districts have now reached, is marked both by a more aggressive bargaining posture by the administrators (representing the school board and community) and by a more deliberate use of the contract to set district policy.
Case studies were conducted in four selected Illinois school districts. Each case chronicled the characteristics of the community, the school districts, the teachers group, and administrators. Using selected materials and interviews, the contract negotiations over time were reconstructed and then compared to the developmental framework. The districts studied could be located at various points on the framework.
The district administrators were also questioned about their views of the impact of collective bargaining on their activities. There were some agreements between interviewees and implications drawn from the development framework. That is, as many administrators work through and with several collective bargaining contracts, they reassess the influences of these contracts on their behaviors and change in ways that often increase their discretionary powers.
This study went beyond the usual account of negotiating strategy and ideology generally associated with the process of "winning at the bargaining table." Instead, the individual case studies focused upon comparisons among districts on the larger policy issues that resulted from basic decisions made during the negotiations process. These larger policy issues and decisions, in turn, had impacts on how administrators in these districts made decisions, administered the contract, and dealt with problems of management authority.
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