During the 1980s, the number of local education associations engaging in some type of collaborative bargaining, a problem-solving approach conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect, grew significantly. In exploring the theory and practice of collaborative bargaining, the National Education Association relied on available published materials and interviews with local leaders and staff with firsthand knowledge of the process. The report provides local education associations with the kind of information that will help them make relatively informed assessments about the process. To understand the forces behind the growth of collaborative bargaining, five kinds of pressure for change are detailed and two problems contributing to a degree of controversy are addressed. A section on the conceptual roots of collaborative bargaining outlines Walton and McKersie's (1965) major tenets of behavior in labor negotiations. Detailed are four subprocesses: distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, attitudinal structuring, and interorganizational bargaining. Contemporary approaches to bargaining are detailed: expedited bargaining, progressive bargaining, win/win Goldaber approach, principled negotiations (the Harvard Negotiation Project), strategic bargaining, and educational policy trust agreements. Potential problems and benefits of collaborative bargaining and the criteria for success conclude the report. Appended are six examples of negotiation models. (27 references) (RR)