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Building Trust for Better Schools

Research-Based Practices

By: Julie Kochanek

Foreword by Anthony Bryk

Why is trust in schools so important? What does trust mean to a school's productivity?

Parents are dependent on teachers to educate their children. Teachers are dependent on principals to create conditions conducive to helping children learn. This excellent new resource identifies links between the growth of trust and positive outcomes that benefit school improvement efforts. But how do we build trust? Kochanek offers an innovative process model of trust building. Increased trust:

Fosters participation among faculty in school reform efforts
Creates a greater openness to innovation among teachers
Increases outreach to parents
Produces even higher academic productivity in schools

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412915144
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2005
Page Count: 144
Publication date: April 13, 2005

Price: $31.95

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Description

"While trust has been shown as a key mechanism for facilitating school improvement, how that can be accomplished is not altogether clear. In this excellent book, Kochanek, through in-depth case studies and sophisticated quantitative analyses of data from a large urban school system, convincingly demonstrates how principal leadership can promote and sustain trust among administrators, teachers, and parents."
-Barbara Schneider, Professor of Sociology
University of Chicago

"Kochanek's book not only clearly explains the theoretical underpinnings of trust development in schools, but also provides rich case studies that explore this theory in action."
-Carmen Manning, Assistant Professor of English Education
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Why is trust in schools so important? What does trust mean to a school's productivity?

Relationships between principals, teachers, and parents cannot be ignored when attempting school reform. No matter how innovative the changes or ideas, reform is unlikely to succeed unless the adults work together to implement it. Building Trust for Better Schools answers the question of how to build trust within the school community.

Parents are dependent on teachers to educate their children. Teachers are dependent on principals to create school conditions that are conducive to helping children learn. This excellent new resource identifies links between the growth of trust and positive organizational outcomes that benefit school improvement efforts.

But how do we build trust? Kochanek offers an innovative process model of trust building. Increased trust in schools:

Fosters participation among faculty in school reform efforts
Creates a greater openness to innovation among teachers
Increases outreach to parents
Produces even higher academic productivity in schools

There is a need for efficient sharing of information in schools across role relationships. This can be done with the building of trust between principals, teachers, and parents as they work together toward a common goal!

Key features

Case studies to exemplify trust-building in schools
Implementation strategies for school leaders and their staff
Builds on recent research tying relational trust to school improvement

Author(s)

Julie Kochanek

Julie Reed Kochanek received her Ph.D from the University of Chicago in 2003. She is currently an assistant professor of sociology at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1. Introduction: Making a Case for Trust

Why Is Trust in Schools So Important?

Efficient Schools as Network Organizations

How Is Trust Defined in Schools?

What Do We Know About Building Trust?

Summary

2. Trust Building as a Developmental Process

Setting the Stage for Positive Interactions

Fostering Low-Risk Exchanges

Creating Opportunities for High-Risk Interactions

Illustrating a Model With Case Studies

3. MacNeil Elementary School: Improving a High-Trust School

The Principal in the Office

New Leadership: The People's Principal

Refining Relationships for Higher Levels of Trust

Summary

4. Mills Elementary School: Starting From a Lack of Trust

A School in Conflict

A Principal Under Siege

Developing Relationships From the Lowest Levels of Trust

Summary

5. Cole Magnet Elementary School: Coming Back to Trust

A Temporary Intrusion

Returning to Normal: The Maintenance Principal

Shared Governance, Facilitated Relationships, and a Lack of Direction

Summary

6. An Examination of Trust Building Through Quantitative Analyses

How Does a Low Base State of Trust Affect the Effectiveness of Trust-Building Strategies?

In Schools With Growing Parent-Teacher Trust, How Does Parent Involvement Vary With the Economic Level of the Parents?

How Important Is a Buffer Between Teachers and Parents in Schools Where Parental Involvement Is Strong?

Does the Growth of Teacher-Principal Trust Lead to a Growth in Teacher-Teacher Trust?

Summary

7. Implementing Trust-Building Strategies in Your School

Which Strategies Are Effective in Building Trust?

Conclusion

Resource A: CCSR Relational Trust Measures

Resource B: Measures of Key Concepts of Trust Building

References

Index

Reviews

"While trust has been shown as a key mechanism for facilitating school improvement, how that can be accomplished is not altogether clear. In this excellent book, Kochanek, through in-depth case studies and sophisticated quantitative analyses of data from a large urban school system, convincingly demonstrates how principal leadership can promote and sustain trust among administrators, teachers, and parents."
-Barbara Schneider, Professor of Sociology
University of Chicago

Barbara Schneider, Professor of Sociology
University of Chicago

"Kochanek's book not only clearly explains the theoretical underpinnings of trust development in schools, but also provides rich case studies which explore this theory in action."
-Carmen Manning, Assistant Professor, English Education
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Carmen Manning, Assistant Professor, English Education
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Other Titles in: Principalship | Leadership | School Change, Reform, & Restructuring

Select Format:

For Instructors

Request Review Copy

When you select 'request review copy', you will be redirected to Sage Publishing (our parent site) to process your request.