Trust arises
from individuals fulfilling obligations with each other: individuals share
vulnerabilities with each other (i.e., when one expresses vulnerability and the
other shares back vulnerability of their own). This statement is not a definition
of trust but it does illustrate the main condition that must exist for trust to
form.
Trust may
not translate directly into improved student achievement, but it creates the
conditions—both structural and socio-psychological—that make positive changes
possible. Without trust, programs meant to improve enhanced student achievement
are not likely to take root or be successful.
Brewster
& Railsback suggest a number of steps educators and institutions can take
to improve trust between colleagues:
- Engage full faculty in activities and discussions related to the schools’ missing, vision, and core values.
- Make new teachers feel welcome.
- Create—and support—meaningful opportunities for teachers to work collaboratively.
- Identify ways to increase and/or improve faculty communication.
- Make relationship-building a priority.
- Choose a professional development model that promotes relationship-building.
Lastly, building trust means avoiding a couple of
missteps. First, it’s not enough to merely create opportunity for trust-building;
the institution needs to take active steps to actually create it. Second,
trust-building won’t happen as the result of a “program” to build trust; instead,
actively “re-culturing” the institution is the only viable alternative.
