Relational trust: effective social relationships in and around schools as a prime resource for school improvement¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 7 claims (7 for) · 4 studies (3 associational, 1 theoretical), q1–q2 · 0 of 4 report an effect size · 7 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Relational trust is the concept Bryk and Schneider develop to name "how effective social relationships—which they term relational trust—can serve as a prime resource for school improvement." It is built from case studies of "the network of relationships that make up the school community" and examines how "the myriad social exchanges that make up daily life in a school community generate, or fail to generate, a successful educational environment." The framework holds that the quality of social relationships operating in and around schools is central to their functioning and strongly predicts positive student outcomes, and that a broad base of trust across a school community is a critical resource when professionals and parents embark on major reforms.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires drawing on longitudinal survey and achievement data as well as in-depth interviews with principals, teachers, parents, and local community leaders, as the authors did

Constraints¶

• Developed in the context of elementary schools undergoing reorganization under the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988

Target Learners¶

• Elementary school students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• School improvement and successful implementation of school reform

Claims¶

• Relational Trust Predicts Learning Gains Chicago Elementary [+M]
• High Relational Trust Educators Experiment And Partner With Parents [+M]
• Social trust predicts which urban schools improve, and trust is built by reducing staff vulnerability [+M]
• Relational trust functions as a moral resource enabling organizations to effect major structural change [+W]
• Relational trust varies substantially between schools, supporting its treatment as an organizational property [+M]
• Strong relational trust and cooperative adult effort distinguish improving schools from schools with flat or declining test scores [+M]
• High-trust schools are hypothesized to show greater teacher commitment, orientation to innovation, parent outreach, and collective responsibility [+M]

Related Theories¶

• Relational trust as an organizational property grounded in discernment of intentions within mutual obligations
• Tseng's (2012) qualities of successful researcher-school partnerships: trust, shared commitments, and open dialogue to improve research and its use

Examples¶

• Open Communication and Trust

Key Sources¶

• Bryk, A. S. and Schneider, B. (1988). Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement. https://www.amazon.com