Appendix: Research on Trust in Schools

A Community of Respect, Caring, and Trust: One School’s Story
Kratzer (1997) conducted a one-year single-site case study of an urban public elementary school in California that was in the process of restructuring to assess the role of respect, caring, and trust in the school’s improvement efforts. The author concludes that "school improvement is contingent upon changing school cultures and patterns of relating, rather than making only structural changes." Although the interviews of teachers and parents reported in this study offer valuable insights into the school improvement process, connections drawn between school improvement and trust in the study are not supported by hard data.

A Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Nature, Meaning, and Measurement of Trust
Tschannen and Hoy’s (2000) multidisciplinary review draws on the theoretical and empirical literature on trust spanning the past four decades. The literature is of a wide variety of methodologies from experimental studies and surveys to interviews and longitudinal case studies. Tschannen-Moran and Hoy explore the importance of trust in schools, the nature and meaning of trust, and the dynamics of trust, and synthesize the literature on trust as it relates to organizational processes such as communication, collaboration, climate, organizational citizenship, efficacy, and effectiveness.

Successful Texas Schoolwide Programs: Research Study Results, School Profiles, Voices of Practitioners and Parents
Lein, Johnson, and Ragland (1997) conducted a study of more than 50 high-poverty Texas schools that scored high in reading and math on state achievement tests. Using case study data from 26 of the schools, the researchers identified seven common themes of high-performing Title I schools: focus on the academic success of every student, no excuses, careful experimentation, inclusion of everyone in problem solving, sense of family, collaboration and trust, and passion for learning and growing. The study results were then used to develop a self-study and planning guide for other schools to use in developing school improvement plans.

Teacher Efficacy and the Capacity to Trust
Da Costa and Riordan (1996) examined connections between "teachers’ sense of efficacy and their willingness to engage in a work-focused, trusting, professional relationship with colleagues." The study was based on interviews and conference transcripts from 10 pairs of teachers from three urban Canadian elementary schools. The researchers conclude that "increasing confidence enables teachers to allow fellow teachers to observe them, while less confident teachers have a harder time entering into this trusting relationship."

Trust in Schools: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis
Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (1998) conducted an empirical study of relationships between faculty trust, school climate, and the authenticity of principal and teacher behavior. The study was based on surveys of 2,741 teachers from 86 middle schools in a northeastern state. Although the sample of schools was not random, measures were taken to include schools from urban, suburban, and rural areas as well as all socioeconomic levels in the state. The researchers concluded that "aspects of climate and authenticity are related differentially to faculty trust. Trust in the principal is determined primarily by the behavior of the principal" while trust among teachers is "determined by the behavior of teachers in relation to one another" (p. 348). This suggests that "trust requires a direct connection between actors" (p. 349): Principals can foster professional environments for faculty, but teacher relationships to one another are primarily determined by the actions of teachers themselves.

Trust: The Quality Required for Successful Management
Blake and MacNeil (1998) examined how best to build trust in schools through a survey of 129 teachers enrolled in education administration about their perceptions of principals’ competencies and behavior. The correlation of trust to 17 competency items showing the highest relationship were "is knowledgeable about what the school should do for students, is approachable, uses power effectively, analyzes problems effectively, and is flexible." A factor analysis was done to determine what factors really accounted for the development of trust. The factors that were determined most important in developing trust were principals being kind toward people, presenting themselves in a cheerful manner, patience, thoughtful of other’s feelings, respectful, friendly, and approachable. Additional recommendations for principals to build trust based on the data are to supervise and evaluate teachers in a competent manner, demonstrate comprehensive evaluation strategies before making judgments, create useful staff development opportunities, and help develop appropriate curriculum solutions for student achievement.