Greetings to all!! By way of that introduction please call me, "Jim." I was born and raised in north central Ohio, graduated from Ohio State University with a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in Personnel Administration.
Along the way I was fortunate enough to earn a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine, a M.S. in Human Behavioral Systems from Wichita State University, an Ed.S. from Troy State University, and my doctoral degree from Auburn University. I have been teaching part-time since earning the MBA and full time for the last 10 years. I have been teaching via the Internet for some time now and find it especially thrilling.
As a Baker College faculty member I stay excited about this teaching media. I am looking forward to working with you over the coming weeks and trust you will find it illuminating, stimulating, and enriching. I wish you good fortune, and a significant learning experience.
Ed.D - School Administration - 1983, Auburn University
Alabama school superintendent opinions on collective bargaining issues
UMI: AAT 8312485
The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions held by Alabama school superintendents regarding potential collective bargaining issues in the state. The study also sought to determine if certain demographic factors of the superintendents (i.e., experience, education, system enrollment) would affect their prediction of what they would be willing to negotiate with organized teachers. The present status of teacher collective bargaining in Alabama and the national trends were reviewed in the study.
A survey instrument was developed to collect data from lawyers in Alabama practicing in the field of labor relations and all 127 school superintendents in the state. Responses were received from eight of nine lawyers and 106 of the 127 school superintendents who where contacted.
The major thrusts of this study were: (1) to gauge the opinions held by school superintendents on 47 potential issues that might be discussed at the collective bargaining table and (2) to determine if the demographic factors influenced the decisions on the 47 potential bargaining issues. The issues were identified in five major clusters. They were: (1) procedural matters, (2) salary and fringe benefits, (3) administration, (4) curriculum and instruction, and (5) certificated personnel.
A series of discriminant analyses was used on the 47 bargaining issues and various demographic factors. A .05 level of significance was used to accept or reject the proposed hypotheses. Some trends were found reflecting what the school superintendents considered a bargainable item. There were no apparent broad trends which correlated the superintendents' demographic backgrounds with their decisions on individual or groupings of bargaining items.
The conclusions resulting from this study included the following: (1) there was a considerable degree of difference in opinion among school superintendents on the 47 potential bargaining items, either individually or by groupings; and (2) the only major correlation between the superintendents' backgrounds and their opinions regarding the potential bargaining items depended on the type of school district to which they were assigned, and thus there was great diversity of opinion on the proper course of action.