This book was designed to help school administrators, board members, and teachers improve effectiveness and cooperation at the bargaining table. It charts the history of collective bargaining and discusses changes now taking place in education that will likely affect negotiations. Following the overview of collective-bargaining history in chapter 1, the second chapter offers suggestions for preparing for negotiations. Chapter 3 discusses the important step of identifying the cooperative aspects of the bargaining process and offers guidelines for managing meetings, working together, and reaching a contract. Strategies for managing conflict are highlighted in the fourth chapter. Chapter 5 highlights the characteristics of collective bargaining in the future: (1) Policy issues will be brought to the bargaining table; (2) the distinction between managers and workers will be reconsidered; (3) formal bargaining will deal with limited issues; and (4) master contracts and board policies will be subject to change when needed. The book argues that cooperative bargaining works only when the parties are convinced separately that their best interests are served by helping the other party reach its own goals. (Contains chapter summaries, a glossary, an annotated bibliography of 13 sources, and 21 references.) (LMI)