Some contend that grievance procedures, which typically include arbitration as the final stage of the process, may be a hindrance in administrators' ability to exercise discretion in school management operations (Hess & Kelly, 2006; Johnson & Donaldson, 2006). Yet, little is known about the grievance and arbitration processes in education (Hess & Kelly, 2006). Even less is known about how these processes affect personnel decisions. This study seeks to build an understanding of grievance and arbitration processes in public education and to explore how these processes influence personnel decisions. Case studies are conducted in six of Florida's school districts to analyze grievance and arbitration practices and the influences of such practices on administrators' staffing decisions. The following research questions are examined: (a) How do Florida's collective bargaining agreements outline the grievance and arbitration process? Do grievance provisions vary among districts? If so, in what ways? (b) How do grievance and arbitration policies work in practice? At what stages in the process are grievances typically resolved? How often do grievances progress to the arbitration stage, and, what are the outcomes? What accounts for district and school level differences, if any, in the number, type, and outcomes of grievance arbitration cases?; and (c) Do grievance and arbitration policies and practices influence decisions regarding teacher placement and dismissal? If so, how? An analysis of grievance and arbitration provisions and other policies (e.g., mediation, Administrative Law Judge disputes) that govern dispute resolution in Florida reveal that districts share similarities and differences in how they outline and implement these policies. Findings of the study also reveal that grievance and arbitration provisions, rarely, if at all, influence staffing decisions. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 18, 2008. / Arbitration, Grievance Arbitration, Grievance Provisions, Grievance and Arbitration Provisions, Grievance / Includes bibliographical references. / Lora Cohen-Vogel, Professor Directing Dissertation; William E. Klay, Outside Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180609 |
| Contributors | Osborne-Lampkin, La'Tara (authoraut), Cohen-Vogel, Lora (professor directing dissertation), Klay, William E. (outside committee member), Iatarola, Patrice (committee member), Rutledge, Stacey (committee member), Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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