Superintendent Leadership and Collective Bargaining Processes, Procedures, and Outcomes
This study examined the relationship between superintendent leadership practices and collective bargaining processes and procedures using a sequential explanatory, mixed methods approach. In phase one of the study, superintendents in the State of Illinois were asked to complete the Leadership Practices Inventory - Self Assessment (2013) (LPISelf) and a demographic profile to identify the type of bargaining that had been used in the most recent negotiations with the teacher's union in their district. The LPI-Self yields data to identify a dominant leadership practice among five leadership practices including "Model the Way," "Inspire a Shared Vision," "Challenge the Process," "Enable Others to Act," and "Encourage the Heart." The results of the LPI-Self were analyzed to determine which leadership practices are associated with superintendents that engage in interest-based bargaining. In phase two of the study, five superintendents, one each from the aforementioned leadership practices were interviewed regarding their leadership and collective bargaining experiences. These interviews, along with the collective bargaining agreements that were in place in each of these districts, were transcribed and coded for keywords based on the five practices. Results of the study indicate that there is not quantitative data to support any one of the leadership practices being associated with interest-based bargaining. However, there is qualitative data that points to the practice of "Enable Others to Act" as being closely associated with superintendents that utilize interest-based bargaining. Additionally, the superintendent that engaged in a "pure form" of interest-based bargaining (Klingel, 2003) had a dominant practice of "Enable Others to Act." Finally, the data identified from the analysis of the collective bargaining agreements pointed to the inclusion of language related to the practice of "Enable Others to Act" most often in the five districts. Suggestions for future research and implications for the field of educational leadership are also explored.
Collective Bargaining, Illinois Schools, Interest-Based Bargaining, Leadership Practices Inventory, Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory, Superintendent Leadership, Educational Leadership
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