The study was to explore the degree of involvement of teacher union in the policy decision ¡Ðmaking process of the education authorities at the central and local level, to analyze the strategies the unions adopted during the participation, and to identify the viewpoints of these involvement from the related people, including policy decision-makers, legislators, and union leaders. Then, a theoretical model of teacher union¡¦s involvement in the decision-making process was testified against the cases in Taiwan. Finally, through the consultation with the experiences of UK and USA, an ideal operational model would be proposed for teacher unions around the island. To achieve the above aims, the researcher adopted documentary analyses and questionnaire survey as the major research methods. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher based upon the literature review and documentary analyses. Surveyed sample of the central level included standing members and executive staff of the National Teacher Union(NTU), congressmen belonging to the Education and Culture committee of the country¡¦s Congress, employees of the Ministry of Education. Surveyed sample of local level included standing board members and executive staff of eight local teacher unions, county councilors belonging to the county council¡¦s education section, local PTA members, and employees of local education authorities. The following 13 findings have been concluded: 1. Staff of the NTU cited the budgeting and management of education finance and the enactment of educational personnel regulations the most-often involved topic by the staff. 2. The perception of NTU¡¦s staff regarding the organization¡¦s involvement was ¡§high level of involvement, low degree of satisfaction,¡¨ which could lead to the more radical approach by NTU while dealing with the education authority in the future. 3. A more radical embarrassmen approach and a mild information approach were considered suitable measures by the NTU¡¦s staff while negotiating with the central education authority. 4. Much more policy makers than NTU¡¦s staff considered the NTU¡¦s role in the policy making process active. 5. All sample agreed that NTU use the information approach to influence the policy making most frequently. 6. Either central or local level, all sample regarded information approach and the alliance approach the two most appropriate measures. 7. All local sample considered the involvement of local teacher union was restricted to those sphere relating to the teacher¡¦s rights and privileges. 8. Local teacher union staff expressed ¡§low level of involvement, low degree of satisfaction¡¨ of their participation in the local policy decision-making process. 9. Compared with NTU, local teacher union showed limited use of different approaches of lobbying. 10. Alliance approach and information approach were considered by all sample the most used measures by the local teacher unions. 11. Local teacher union staff considered information approach the most appropriate measure in lobbying the policy makers, nevertheless, they showed willingness to utilize other approaches. 12. There were significant difference between the perceptions of PTA and local union staff concerning the teacher union¡¦s involvement in the policy making process. 13. County councilors¡¦ needs for educational information was extremely high, as a result, they showed support for the local teacher union¡¦s use of information approach in lobbying. Finally, 12 suggestions were provided to teacher unions at both central and local level as well as the education authorities by the researcher.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of identifying and assessing degrees of influence of environmental conditions and actors which influenced the passage of House Bill 72 by the Texas legislature. The two methods used to collect this data were personal interviews of key actors in the legislative process and a questionnaire administered to all members of the 68th Texas legislature.

Legal data for the study come from briefs of state and federal court decisions. Political information is drawn from various governmental reports to the Sixty-third Texas Legislature on public school finance reform. Other material is from minutes of the House Committee on Education and interviews with members involved in the legislative process. The study describes and analyzes competing forces which try to influence policy decisions and attempts to identify the salient issues in the political process of educational policy-making. This information is incorporated into a systems model for heuristic purposes. The study pays special attention to state and federal court decisions, with emphasis on the "Burger Court" and President Nixon's influence upon the court. The latter part of the study concentrates on the Sixty-third Legislature and post-Sixty-third Legislature of Texas, and its efforts to write a public school finance reform program. The findings of the study show that the disparity in educational opportunity in Texas is a reality. The study also shows that school districts with the greatest need for reform are often least effective in influencing educational decision-makers. Finally, the study reveals that the inequities in public school finance are inherent in the ad valorem tax system used in most states for public school financing. Further study is recommended into the politics of public school finance reform, with particular attention to the Texas Constitutional Convention's efforts to reform the state's funding formula. A study of the governor's role in public school finance should also be made, with special attention to the reasons for his refusal to call a special legislative session to deal with the problem. Finally, it is recommended that a study be made of the Fort Worth et al. v. Edgar case, since it represents a new dimension in the conflict over the use of the ad valorem property tax in funding public education.