This dissertation reports the results of a qualitative and quantitative research project that examined the perceptions of fifteen participants, in three separate school districts, concerning interest-based and traditional collective bargaining. The study focused on the relationships between administrators and teachers, as well as the financial implications of interest-based and traditional bargaining on the negotiated agreement. Participants were selected from school districts located in Southern and Central Illinois that utilized both interest-based and traditional collective bargaining strategies to negotiate contracts. Five participants from each district were chosen from each district (2 administrators, 1 Board member, 2 from the union membership), and all participants were at the table during each bargaining cycle. The interest-based process elicited more positive feelings among participants due to the cooperative nature of the process, and was generally perceived as beneficial to the relationship between faculty and administration. According to the perceptions of most of the participants in two of the three districts studied, there were no real financial ramifications to using either process. In the third district however, there appear to be financial effects. There was a perception that the Board of Education would not have given away as much money had they used the traditional style of bargaining. Some of the quantitative data however, did not support or refute the perceptions of the participants in one of the three districts due to the timing of their bargaining cycles. The aforementioned contract was bargained during an economic downturn which may have had a large impact on school districts between the 2010 and 2012 school years. The contracts of the second district did not show a significant difference in salaries or benefits when comparing the two studied bargaining styles, and the third reflected only a small difference in salaries and benefits. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]