Principal decision-making and the teachers' use of the complaint and grievance procedure.

Abstract

Current research in collective bargaining suggests the need to investigate how contracts and agreements are interpreted at school sites. Speculation about the effects of collective bargaining describe comprehensive situations and neglect the individual settings which are most critically affected. Furthermore, a need persists to reveal those aspects of "life as a principal" that are affected by collective bargaining, teacher behaviors, and interpretations and decisions that occur within this working domain. This qualitative study addressed these issues. It investigated how 15 principals, kindergarten through grade 12, in a state that lacks a comprehensive statute which neither requires nor prohibits bargaining, interpret contracts and agreements. Analysis of protocols revealed that locally negotiated arrangements influence the course of complaints and grievances. The principals in this study provided evidence indicating that collective bargaining some of these same limitations are locally negotiated between principals and teachers. This renegotiating process enabled both principals and teachers to continue in working relationships to meet the distinct needs of each school. Further research on the daily settlement of disputes, arising during the life of an agreement, would be beneficial in understanding the effects of collective bargaining.