The National Education Association (NEA) originally focused on a consensual relationship existing between classroom teachers and administrators on one hand and governing bodies of public education on the other. Both administrators and classroom teachers belonged to the same organization. During the past decade, the NEA became more militant, emphasizing political action, collective bargaining, and teacher strikes for higher pay and better working conditions, thus dividing teachers from management. In the light of lower student enrollment, decreased financial resources, and over-supply of teachers, priorities of NEA action are changing. There is now pressure to bring weight to bear on schools of education, which have tended to emphasize training of administrators, to recognize the needs and demands of the classroom teacher. In demanding greater professional status benefits for classroom teachers, the NEA is seeking to complement the economic gains achieved by their members. Greater teacher participation and more school-site inservice programs are urged to contribute to more effective program implementation and improved classroom learning process. In responding to demands of organized teachers, local district administrators and schools of education, by accepting partnership with organized teachers, can improve the professional standards of the higher-education-based teacher community. (JD)