What makes schools for students with special needs effective? Research indicates that teachers have the greatest impact on student performance. But they are only one component in the schooling environment.
In this case, the principal happens to be a crucial factor in setting a positive culture in a school. They are natural leaders in an educational setting that has to earn their trust.
And it so happens that learning experts consider trust to be the most important feature of strong school culture. In a 2015 study of 250 teachers from five high-performing schools, they reported high levels of trust in their principals. The report titled “Faculty Trust in the Principal” described that school leaders must ‘foster and maintain trust to lead schools effectively.’
In the case of these schools, leaders examined the foundations of trust and practiced them promptly.
Their approach managed three elements of trust we want to discuss with you. If you’re a principal or have a leading role in a school, you may ask yourself one question. ‘How do I reach that point of trust with my colleagues?’ Read below to learn more.
The 3 Elements of Trust
It’s useful to begin thinking about the behaviors that underlie trust. How can one create a positive relationship with another person and group?
It all begins with believing in education and having reasonable faith in the human capacity to learn. A good leader and collaborator can convince others and can gain their trust by practicing understanding.
Now let’s discuss the three remaining practices that ensure trust towards leaders in a school or similar environment.
- Build Positive Relationships- A leader should find ways to create a positive relationship with colleagues and even students. Some approaches include resolving conflicts with others and kindly giving honest feedback. For a leader, it’s also important to always stay in touch on issues and concerns within the school staff.
- Good Judgement/Expertise- There is no denying that a good leader can achieve all the required tasks. They can use their knowledge and technical expertise to make decisions and responds to problems. A benefit of this behavior is also the trust others can have in their ideas and opinions, which is a fundamental aspect of collaboration.
- Consistency/Reliability- With the knowledge, they have, great leaders can do what they say they will do. This is a crucial element of trust. A principal or a teacher that earns the trust of others is a role model that sets good examples to follow and honors promises and commitments. As a good leader, other people can depend on you and expect you to show up in difficult moments.
Trust and Student Achievement
In “Faculty Trust in the Principal,” the researchers found that the level of trust teachers held for the principal was related to their trust in students and parents.
This positive tendency gave way to a climate of trust that the study also linked to student achievement. The evidence, as the report, describes shows that trust is an essential element of productive schools.
Schools that achieve a high standard of success share common characteristics:
- Teachers relate to one another, to students, and the community at large
- The schools meet essential educational goals like equipping students for citizenship
- There is faculty trust in students
- There is notable student achievement through elements like teacher professionalism and community engagement
Other Behaviors that Cultivate Trust
The following behaviors are interwoven in the three elements of trust. They all play a crucial part in the exercises of positive relationships, good judgment, and consistency.
Vulnerability
Due to the nature of most educator’s environments, accomplishing a goal is not a one-person task. They need to aspire to the interdependence that is attainable through vulnerability. When a principal and a teacher are vulnerable about their fears about new education policy, it shows the behavior of reliance and comfort.
In this case, both colleagues understand the responsibility to adhere to the policy but are open to discuss their concerns. In this case, there is a space for understanding and honesty.
Benevolence
A sense of caring can sometimes be overlooked, especially with concerns about a leadership role. Benevolence has more to do with demonstrating genuine care for colleagues, students, and parents.
Strong school leaders can promote trust by showing benevolent behaviors. Some examples are consideration and sensitivity of the staff’s needs. Benevolence can make way for fairness and respect in the school environment in contrast to plain likeness and affection.
Openness
Another aspect to consider about trust is openness. A willingness to share information leads to trustworthiness between a leader and the teachers.
If you’re a leader that exchanges thoughts and ideas with teachers, their trust in you increases. It also invites teachers to be more open.
Competence
Competence is strongly tied to the third most important element of trust: reliability. A strong leader performs an expected task. In the case of a school, principals and teachers adhere to appropriate standards of competence. Teachers depend upon principals that manage their roles with success, so they too fulfill their role of teaching students.
A teacher that expresses the principal’s lack of competence matters. It’s connected to the distrust they’ll have for their supervisor. If you’re a strong leader in your school, you set high standards for yourself. And some of the achievements you pursue include:
- choosing the appropriate curriculum
- improving student learning
- managing school context
- improving instruction
Although a principal’s effect on educational outcomes is sometimes indirect, it inspires culture. Teachers that show leadership and genuine trust can influence the most important goal at hand: student learning.
Signs of a Leader that Relies on the Power of Trust
- They are skilled at trusting
- They are excellent collaborators and influencers
- They operate from a clear set of principles detached from selfishness and opportunism
- They are intrinsic
- They take the initiative and stir away from the dependency on direct authority and political power
Are you a trust-builder?
Any school or educational center that fosters and supports a culture defined by trust can see positive results in student achievement. Countless research backs this idea and recommends future studies about practices that improve student learning. In the end, the purpose of schools is for students to develop and learn at high levels. If you’re in a leadership position, you know that you must make sure that they establish meaningful relationships with their teachers.
All of this will be possible through trust, a feeling that someone’s got your back. And in an environment like that students and teachers can be their best selves. Don’t be discouraged about building trust.
It all starts with honest dialogue. You can begin an open conversation asking your teachers and staff: is learning here good or not? Once you make room for important questions, the staff begins to feel comfortable about identifying what’s working and what isn’t.
How to Foster Trust
Remember to focus on teachers and students as individuals that are constantly growing. There’s a difference between feeling obligated to set up weekly group meetings with teachers, for example, and looking forward to what they have to say.
As a leader, you can take that opportunity to invite the staff to talk about concerns or simple milestones in or outside the classroom. The key is to put the same effort into fostering trust as you would in planning routine meetings.
You’ll soon realize that once trust is embedded in your school or learning center, a powerful conversation of growth and improvement will come up all the time.
Final Thoughts
The educational mission of schools should always consider trust as one of its powerful constructs. As you learned, many elements and mediators must exist between leadership actions and the outcomes of students.
An educational environment that thrives on helping students with special needs must choose ethics, and virtue above any other set of ‘principles’. When you begin to foster the three elements of trust, consider them individually. This helps to document practices of trust as successful instructional leadership.
A principal in a school that encourages trust knows how to manage risk. There is no trust without risk. In its essence, this management leads to a forge of bonds with school staff and students.
Have you ever tried to build trust as a leader? Or have you repaired trust in your work environment? Feel free to send your thoughts our way.
