Compulsory Interest Arbitration in Public Education: A Case Study

Resolution of impasse disputes in public sector education has emerged as a growing concern in recent years. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of compulsory final offer interest arbitration has served as a viable means of resolving conflicts between boards of education and teacher associations in Connecticut. Statistical examination of the ways in which contracts were settled, the types of issues arbitrated and the decisions of the arbitrator(s) was conducted on the 182 arbitration awards made between 1979-80 and 1984-85 in Connecticut. Additionally, interviews were conducted with members of the Department of Education's arbitration panel and other individuals involved in the process in Connecticut. Of the 23 areas of issues for arbitration it was found that salary, workday/year, medical insurance, and leaves of absence were the most frequently arbitrated issues when comparisons were done between areas. Also, in the area of arbitral decisions it was found that arbitrators tend to be more favorable toward the association when deciding issues pertaining to salary and more favorable toward the board when deciding issues pertaining to workday/year. No other significant differences were found. Additionally, the results of arbitrator interviews show that for the most part the process has worked well in Connecticut and that parties are generally in acceptance of compulsory arbitration for the resolution of contract disputes.

Name thesis:degree_name

EdD Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation: Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Year dc:date.available

1987

Author dc:creator

• Keri, Madeline Mary, EdD

• board of education
• case study
• Compulsory Interest arbitration
• Connecticut
• Leadership studies
• public education
• teacher associations

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/502

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.sandiego.edu:dissertations-1507