A forecast of the negotiability of selected educational policy items and the impact of this negotiability on education in the public schools of Texas

Vita.The purpose of this study was to forecast a future scope of bargaining for collective negotiations between teacher organizations and school boards in Texas public schools. The study also sought to identify areas of agreement and disagreement between the probable bargaining parties, teachers, administrators and school board members. These objectives were accomplished through the use of a forecasting research technique known as the Delphi. A panel of experts in the field of public school collective bargaining was selected from across the state of Texas and invited to participate in a three-round Delphi investigation. The primary goal of the panel was to forecast a scope of bargaining for Texas public schools by the year 1986. Secondly, the panel was asked to estimate the impact of the negotiability of each educational policy item presented to them. The basic instrument used throughout the three Delphi rounds was to "Nevada Professional Negotiations Opinionnaire" developed by Robert Burns in 1973. A total of 80 respondents participated in the three-round series. The panel was compromised of four subgroups: teachers, administrators, school board members, and a group called "consultants." In the first round each respondent was asked to evaluate and estimate the "likelihood" of an item being negotiable by 1986. Secondly, the panel members were asked to assume every opinionnaire item would be bargainable and to estimate what "impact" this negotiability would have on public education.