Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 130-133. / by Linda Kay Vandegrift. / M.C.P.

This treatise investigates the extent to which education could be declared an essential service. This is informed by an ongoing public perception that education is in a crisis as a result of the ease within which teachers embark on wildcat strikes, the level of absenteeism in schools, the manner in which communities prevent learners from attending school to place pressure on the state to meet service delivery demands, the lack of professionalism among teachers and the performance of our learners in achieving international benchmarks of results. The treatise critically explores the debate, in the South African context, on the need to declare education as an essential service in South Africa. This is done by examining the international benchmarks set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in relation to essential services and what motivating reasons exist, if any, to proceed with declaring education as an essential service. There is a dire need to find a balance between the teachers’ right to strike and the learners’ right to basic education. At the moment there is a threat to this balance with the rights of teachers appearing to override those of learners and this has a negative impact on the learning outcomes and stability in education. The question that arises is what measures must the South African government put in place to ensure that the fundamental rights to education are not compromised. If the current situation continues to prevail it has the danger of retarding the development of a society in transition. There is a need for urgent intervention that takes on a consensus-based approach of identifying education as an essential priority in the interests of all. Can this be achieved by developing a minimum service level agreement for education that outlines which levels of teachers may go on strike? Can policy be regulated that outlines the duties of principals and deputy principals as those who are in the authority of the state and as such may not go on a strike? Can this be achieved without compromising the rights of any citizen as guaranteed in the Constitution of South Africa? The solution that this treatise provides to these vexing questions attempts to balance the rights of teachers with those of learners with a view to normalizing and stabilizing education in South Africa. It recommends that policy be set in place for principals and deputy principal that identifies them as part of those public servants who are in the authority of the state and therefore may not embark on a strike. This will enable the state to gain control of striking situations in education to ensure that there is still authority at the schools to maintain some level of minimum service, especially where there are very young learners. At the same time this will not be so severe as to render a strike in education ineffective for the teachers’ not to be able to exert force on the state to achieve improved conditions of service for themselves.

Incidences of collective bargaining, strikes, and other union activities by public school teachers have multiplied rapidly across this country. By the 1979-1980 school year teacher strikes in this country reached a record high of 242. In addition, teachers had won the right to organize and to bargain collectively by statute in three-fifths of the nation's states by the end of the 1970s. However, in 1977 the Virginia State Supreme Court declared that the state could not delegate to local governing bodies or boards the right to bargain collectively with public employees. The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific attitudes held by public school teachers in Prince William County, Virginia to various forms of collective action. The secondary purpose of this descriptive research was to analyze the relationship between these teachers' attitudes toward collective action and selected demographic variables. A random sample of 322 teachers received the Demographic Questionnaire and Collective Action Survey. Responses were analyzed according to frequency distribution and stepwise multiple regression to determine significance between respondents' attitudes and demographic characteristics. The results of the multiple regression analysis determined that four demographic variables had a statistically significant relationship with scale score or total attitude toward collective action. These variables were political affiliation, social class, degree status, and place of birth. Overall, respondents held attitudes favorably disposed to collective action. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The problem investigated by this study was that of understanding types of behaviors exhibited by participants in negotiations processes and impact of behaviors on collective bargaining in Nigeria. The study's three purposes were to describe the nature and extent of interpersonal conflict that occurs in collective bargaining, to determine the consequences that stem from such conflict, and to suggest the behaviors and performances during the face-to-face negotiations that should exist to enhance labor-management relations in Nigerian public education. This study examined behavior in negotiations by using simulation, i.e., a quasiexperimental method. Four outcomes of negotiations--time required to reach agreement, terms of agreements, verbal behavior exhibited during negotiations, and satisfaction derived by negotiators in negotiations—were examined.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-225). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

The purpose of this study was to determine if significant variances exist among the attitudes of educational leaders in West Virginia toward collective bargaining and what influences certain demographic variables might have as predictors of attitudes. Eight categories of educational leaders were included in this study, with membership determined by employment or organizational position held. Twenty-one items concerning demographic information were included to gather pertinent background material. Data were collected by mail survey using a Likert Scale. The data were analyzed as follows: differences across categories of leaders were tested using the one-way analysis of variance, and predictors of attitudes were sought with a multiple regression and a Scheffe test. The results indicated that there were significant differences between groups in relation to attitudes toward collective bargaining and certain demographic variables at the .05 level of significance. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

This study analyzed a random sample of thirty-six collective bargaining contracts between teachers and their respective boards of education in Wisconsin, New York, Tennessee, and California. The contracts were studied to assess the effect that collective bargaining has had upon the powers of principals over time. This was done by comparing each contract to a comprehensive list of traditional powers that were available to principals prior to collective bargaining (Pre-Collective Bargaining Power Profile of Principals). This analysis of contracts was a two-phase process. The first step was to identify whether or not the profile statements in the Pre-Collective Bargaining Power Profile were referred to in each contract. The second step was to describe how the presence of references to these statements affected the Power Profile of Principals. The principal's power was reported as being affected in three ways: deleted, constrained, or authorized. The general conclusion of this study was that the effect of teacher collective bargaining upon the powers of principals has been marginal. The data from the analysis of the contracts revealed that the majority (66 percent) of the statements in the Pre-Collective Bargaining Power Profile were not referred to in the collective bargaining contracts. The effects of the references to the statements that were identified were mixed. In the role areas of personnel management, pupil personnel management, and instructional leadership, the negotiation process authorized more power to principals than it deleted. In the role area of business and plant management, the principals' powers were deleted much more than authorized. This was due solely to the inclusion into the contracts of two items (i.e., the power to control building space and the power to control who may and may not enter the building). In the role area of community relations, the frequency of references was so small that the effects upon the power of principals were nonexistent.