Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1987

Thesis Director

Larry Janes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of public school superintendents before, during, and after the teacher strikes in the state of Illinois during the 1984-85 school year regarding: teacher organizations, negotiations personnel and influences, progression of events related to the strike (before, during, and after the strike), issues that contributed to the strike, time spent working on strike-related activities, terms and conditions of contract settlement, and cost of the strike. The 1984-85 school year was selected for this study because this was the first year teachers could legally conduct strikes in the state of Illinois after passage of HB 1530.

A review of the literature revealed that an abundance of advisory information related to teacher strikes has been published; however, the literature that pertains to strikes was specifically limited to describing one aspect of a strike situation, i.e., planning or communications. Similarly other studies were limited to one or two specific school systems and describing their unique problems. Unfortunately, information relevant to teacher strikes in the state of Illinois was very limited. The limited amount of published information specifically related to teacher strikes in the state of Illinois established the need for this study.

The Superintendent Questionnaire Regarding Teacher Strikes of the 1984-85 School Year was developed to acquire information from superintendents who were employed in school districts that experienced teacher strikes during the 1984-85 school year. The questionnaire was mailed to the superintendents of the thirty-one public school districts that experienced teacher strikes during the 1984-85 school year. A response rate of seventy-four percent was obtained.

Descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and percentages were used to analyze responses to the questionnaire. Responses were analyzed categorically by type of district (Rural, Urban, or Combination type) and/or collectively.

The results, findings, and conclusions of this study were extensive, and provided the foundation for recommendations that were made to school boards.

Download

Share

COinS