The position of the school principal as an entity in collective negotiations as perceived by principals in seven selected states

The problem of the study was to delineate the position of the school principal as an entity in collective negotiations as perceived by principals who have had experience in the negotiation process. A primary objective was to determine the principal's perceptions of existing and ideal conditions in the areas of salaries, management rights, participation in the collective negotiations process, and participation in the administration of the grievance procedures. An ancillary objective was to examine actual contracts to determine relative strength of management rights clauses and specificity of grievance procedures. The participants were school principals in seven states selected because all had mandatory negotiations statutes prior to 1966. A total of three hundred fifty principals (twenty-five elementary and twenty secondary from each state) were requested to participate. One hundred eighty-six (53%) became active participants. The study instrument was a questionnaire designed to elicit perceptions of actual and ideal practices in twelve general areas developed from the purposes of the study. Principals were also requested to submit copies of the contract in effect in their school districts. Twenty-six contracts were submitted and examined. ..