This speech describes two research studies, one that investigated the role of the superintendent in collective negotiations as perceived by school personnel, and the other that compared the attitudes of selected school personnel from Indiana and Michigan concerning the role of the principal in collective negotiations. Data collected from the first study revealed that important differences exist among rural and urban school personnel when compared with central city school personnel relative to the role of the superintendent in collective negotiations and the scope and structure of the negotiations process. In the second study, four groups or types of people were identified and classified by beliefs: educational managers, anxious participators, ambivalent participators, and educational bystanders. (Author)