This investigation was designed to study the patterns of perceptions of the central office administrators involved in the 1978 Tucson Unified School District teacher strike. The theoretical framework developed for this study, which was based on perceptual psychology, included the following areas: (1) perception; (2) empathy; (3) adequacy/self-concept; (4) relationships; (5) stress; and (6) perceptual framework. An interview schedule was developed based on the theoretical framework. The schedule utilized a Likert-type attitudinal scale as well as an open-ended comment format. Quantitative data were collected based on the principals' responses to the scale items. Qualitative data were based on comments on each of the scale items. Twenty-one central office administrators who were in those positions at the time of the strike were interviewed in-depth regarding their perceptions on the following aspects of the strike: (1) issues and causes; (2) relationships; (3) stress; (4) post-strike views. All of the data were collected during the field interviews. The central office administrator sample was a volunteer sample selected from the total population based on their willingness to participate. Among the findings, the following appeared to be the most significant: (1) the superintendents and school board were cited most frequently as the major cause of the strike; (2) relationships with any of the significant others were not significantly impacted by the strike; (3) the participants were most stressed during the strike. They indicated the least stress was experienced in the pre-strike period; (4) a break in relationships with significant others, especially teachers, was a major strike concern of the central office administrators; (5) Tucson Education Association was perceived by the majority of the participants to have acted in a responsible manner before and during the strike; (6) the consensus agreement was considered by the majority of the participants to be a fair and equitable resolution to the problem; (7) central office administrators, for the most part, did not perceive the strike as having a negative impact on their effectiveness as central office administrators; and (8) the efforts of the district to effectively meet district educational goals was not negatively impacted by the strike circumstances, according to slightly less than a majority of the participants.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/185515 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | COOPER, RUTH GRAVES. |
| Contributors | Barnes, William |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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