The purpose of the study was to ascertain the factors and conditions which have contributed to harmonious and cooperative negotiations leading to a mutually acceptable agreement as perceived by school board negotiators, teacher organization negotiators and superintendents in selected Indiana school corporations. Study participants included thirty school superintendents, nine school board negotiators that were not superintendents and thirty teacher organization representatives.An interview guide was developed through information secured from an examination of factors and conditions leading to mutually acceptable agreements found in the literature and research dealing with collective bargaining in the educational setting. A separate survey response instrument, entitled Components of Harmonious and Cooperative Negotiations, was developed for use by study participants. Data from interviews and surveys were organized and analyzed by comparing and contrasting responses of participants with the opinions expressed by authorities in the public and private sectors.The null hypothesis to be dealt with in the analysis of the Components of Harmonious and Cooperative Negotiations stated that there was to be no statistically significant difference in the mean value of responses of school board negotiators and of teacher negotiators relative to each of the eleven components.Statistical treatment of the survey data presented the means and standard deviation and the results of a T-test for each of the eleven Components of Harmonious and Cooperative Negotiations. Each of the eleven questions was analyzed by sequential use of the T-statistic for comparing means of two independent groups. A two-tailed approach was used. For each of the eleven components, the null hypothesis was tested. Means and standard deviations for school board and teacher negotiator responses revealed the differences in mean score responses of the two groups of negotiators. The commonly-used .05 level of confidence was arbitrarily chosen as the level of statistical significance.Based on a review of literature and related research, the study, interviews with public school education, and personal experiences related to the study, the following conclusions were drawn:1. An atmosphere and genuine spirit of cooperation is a highly desirable factor in the establishment and maintenance of harmonious and cooperative negotiations.2. Trust is a key factor in securing and maintaining harmonious and cooperative negotiations.3. Increased delegation and responsibility for negotiations from rank and file teachers to negotiating teams has become commonplace.4. The maturity of the collective bargaining relationship and the overall quality of day to day relationships between administrators and teachers will greatly influence the amount and quality of teacher input in the decision making process of the school corporation.5. The composition of the bargaining team reflects the overall attitudes and posture toward bargaining of the school board, administration, and teachers.6. Bargaining teams must be allowed sufficient authority to make tentative decisions for respective constituencies.7. Power is a necessary entity in collective bargaining.8. Ground rules, as a factor in conducting harmonious and cooperative negotiations, diminish in light of good faith bargaining and gentlemanly agreements relative to procedures for negotiations.9. Communication between teachers and the school administration is an essential factor in the final outcome of negotiations.10. Carefully reading, interpreting and observing the intent of the contract 'Language results are factors of day to day administration of the contract resulting in more harmonious and cooperative negotiations.11. Indiana Public Law 217 contains the necessary ingredients for negotiations to be conducted without revision at this time.12. Negotiations proceed best when rigid proceduresand strict protocol are held to a minimum.13. Negotiations between the school administration and teachers are conducted more harmoniously and cooperatively and with less pressure when the direct participation of the Indiana State Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association is minimized.14. A realistic view of harmonious and cooperative relations between the school administration and teachers calls for earned respect, honesty, integrity and an obvious concern by each side for the other. There is absolutely no substitute for high level professional and ethical relations in all matters between the school administration and teachers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/180029 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Rich, Rodney R. |
| Contributors | Strom, Merle T. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 3, viii, 314 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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