Building Trusting Relationships for School Improvement: Implications for Principals and Teachers
by Cori Brewster and Jennifer Railsback
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Overview
This article provides a review of the key research on the importance of building trusting relationships. Building trust between educators within a school has been identified as an important factor in developing effective schools and improving outcomes for students.
In the article, there are summaries of the main findings which provide strong recommendations for principals and other school leaders in terms of how to go about building trusting and effective relationships. These recommendations provide challenges for leadership teams to reflect on, as well as suggestions about ways forward.
Even when there has been a past lack of trust which is negatively affecting people in the school community, it is possible to turn things around. There needs to be identification of the specific causes of the mistrust and a sincere commitment to address them. Openness, engaging everyone in discussion, and expressing value for what people do are all important elements in building trusting and successful relationships.
Reflective questions
These reflective questions might guide you in your reading of this article:
- What specifically have you learned from reading this article?
- What evidence do you have that relationships in your school are built on trust? Are there any areas where obstacles to trust are negatively impacting on teacher effectiveness and/or students’ outcomes?
- The key to building trusting relationships is a school culture that values input for all staff. What opportunities do your staff have to share their professional knowledge and success? How can you provide more opportunities for teachers to participate in decision making and in sharing their expertise?
Further reading
Lee, K. (2006). More than a feeling: Developing the emotionally literate secondary school. Nottingham, UK: National College for School Leadership. Download the report (PDF 755KB).
Reference
Brewster, C. & Railsback, J. (2003). Building trusting relationships for school improvement: Implications for principals and teachers. Oregon, USA: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. =
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