The Education Policy Analysis Archives is a peer-reviewed
scholarly journal freely accessible on the internet at
http://epaa.asu.edu.

EPAA has just published Volume 9 Number 26 "Negotiated
Learning: Union Contracts and Teacher Professional
Development" by Paul V. Bredeson, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The article can be accessed directly at
         http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v9n26.html

An abstract follows:

                Negotiated Learning:
 Union Contracts and Teacher Professional Development

                  Paul V. Bredeson
          University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract
In this article, I report the results of an
investigation that examined the impact of teacher
union contracts on the development of
professional learning communities in schools.
There are three primary sources of data used in
the study: 1) 100 written teacher union contract
documents; 2) structured interview data from 21
educators (school superintendents, principals,
directors of staff development, and teacher union
representatives; and 3) focus group interview
data from educational leaders in schools. The
analysis and discussion focus on five areas
related to teacher professional development with
implications for policy and practice: explicit
language covering opportunities for teaching
learning in their work; governance and decision
making structures, that is, specific provisions
covering wages, hours, and conditions of
employment; the description of legitimate and
sponsored activities for the professional
development of teachers; and the resources
supporting the on-going professional growth of
teachers. The findings indicate that rethinking,
restructuring, and organizational re-culturing in
schools are initial expressions of a new unionism
that has the potential to lead to the development
of more powerful professional learning
communities in schools.

___________________________________________________
Gene V Glass,  Editor
Education Policy Analysis Archives
College of Education,  Arizona State University
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