In recent years, rigorous studies have shown that effective public schools are built on strong collaborative relationships between administrators and teachers. The two largest national teachers' unions--the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association--have embarked on major initiatives to promote greater collaboration,…

Of late, teachers unions have worked together with district management in new and notable ways. This paper examines the role of teachers unions in shaping the Together Initiative (TI), which seeks to increase autonomy and broaden decision making in urban schools in one northeastern state. In general, state-level union leaders have taken more…

For most of the past decade, this author has studied union-management efforts to improve public education, and has witnessed extraordinary examples of teachers, union leaders, and administrators working together to improve teaching and learning. In this article, seven case studies on collaborative partnerships between teachers' unions and…

In this article, the author has equated the principal's relationship with the president of the teachers' union as a dance where each wants to lead and yet there is, as in most relationships, a mutual dependency that makes each person realize that there is a time when one leads and a time when one follows. The author presents the details of when…

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…

This article argues that the work of school principals in South Africa is shaped by two major sets of constructs or "landscapes": the literature on leadership and management which provides particular constructions of the field and its changes; and the terrain of new policy frameworks adopted after apartheid to transform the education…

Describes efforts by school superintendents to develop dress codes for school employees. Describes link between teacher dress and student decorum. Includes excerpts from staff dress codes from three school districts: Goose Creek Consolidated School District, Baytown, Texas; Denver Public Schools, Colorado; Wake County Public Schools, Raleigh,…

Describes how a principal of an Australian parochial school tackled an onsite enterprise bargaining process. Indepth interviews suggested that to succeed, principals must be opportunists and reassurers, initiators and communicators, researchers and information providers, learners and responders, and standard-bearers and pragmatists. (Contains 25…

Administrator bargaining in the public schools has altered the traditional pro-managerial outlook of many principals. A survey of school administrators in New Jersey revealed that, on issues such as dismissal procedures, grievance rights, and use of outside arbitrators, middle managers diverged from superintendents and took a more pro-labor…

Examines from a union perspective the problems faced by bargaining units that represent both teachers and principals. The author discusses the differences between private and public sector labor relations and the organizations and issues involved, and contends there is a need for supervisory representation but recommends separate units for…

Examines some of the factors that management should consider in formulating a strategy concerning supervisor unionization. Discusses the issues of election, negotiation, employees in sensitive or confidential positions, quality of supervision, reductions in force, promotions, and transfers. (Author/MLF)

Summarizes school reform efforts in several urban districts, focusing on professional unionism and its superiority to traditional industrial unionism. These districts exemplify the art of school leadership, as administrators work through challenges to administrative authority, feelings of being excluded, and overloaded agendas. Teaming,…