Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) is a local labor-management initiative designed to improve teacher quality. In PAR, expert "consulting teachers" mentor, support, and evaluate novice and underperforming veteran teachers. Evaluations under PAR can lead to dismissals. The authors examine the costs and benefits of PAR, both financial and…

Concludes that labor relations among districts vary in response to and enforcement of specific contract provisions and that labor relations at the school level vary within districts, influenced by such factors as administrative leadership, staff allegiance, and student needs. (JOW)

The effects of collective bargaining contracts on school administration and teacher-principal relations are neither as visible nor as far-reaching as has been believed. Interviews with 189 teachers and 100 administrators, conducted in 18 schools in six diverse districts in as many states, indicate that implementation of contract provisions varies…

Collective bargaining contracts with teachers unions have reduced principals' autonomy but have still left them opportunities for effective administration of their schools. Interviews with 289 educators in six diverse school districts across the country show that contracts have limited principals' powers both from above, by centralizing labor…

To clarify the role of collective bargaining in defining and reforming local school district staffing policies, an analysis was made of 144 teacher contracts gathered from a stratified, random sample of districts. In five of these districts, selected for their diversity on a number of variables (state, region, size, labor history, contract, and…