Collective Trust: Why Schools Can't Improve Without It

by Forsyth, Patrick B.; Adams, Curt M.; Hoy, Wayne K.

• ISBN13: 9780807751671
• ISBN10: 0807751677
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-16
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

The culmination of nearly three decades of research, Collective Trust offers new insight and practical knowledge on the social construction of trust for school improvement. The authors argue that "collective trust" is not merely an average trust score for a group, but rather an independent concept with distinctive origins and consequences. The book demonstrates that schools are organizations that require environments characterized by high levels of collective trust to be effective. Including an historical overview, an exhaustive review of the empirical research, and implications for school reform policy and leadership, this is the most comprehensive resource to date on the issue of collective trust.

Author Biography

Patrick B. Forsyth is a professor of education at the University of Oklahoma. Curt M. Adams is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Oklahoma and is a research scientist with the Oklahoma Center for Educational Policy. Wayne K. Hoy is a public school mathematics teacher and the Fawcett Chair in Educational Administration at The Ohio State University.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Foundations of Collective Trust	p. 1
Early Studies in School Trust	p. 3
Faculty Trust: A Definition and Its Referents	p. 3
Principal Authenticity	p. 5
School Climate	p. 7
School Effectiveness	p. 9
Summary	p. 14
Conceptual Foundations and the Formation of Collective Trust	p. 16
Common Features of Trust	p. 16
The Sociology of Collective Trust	p. 20
Collective Trust Model	p. 24
Summary	p. 32
Measuring Collective Trust in Schools	p. 33
Early Definition and Measure of Collective Trust	p. 33
Development of a Refined Measure of Collective Trust	p. 34
Developing Measures of Faculty Trust: The Trust Scales	p. 35
Omnibus Trust Scale (T-Scale)	p. 40
Parent Trust in Schools Scale (PTS-Scale)	p. 42
Parent Trust in Principal Scale (PTP-Scale)	p. 43
Student Trust in Faculty Scale (STF-Scale)	p. 44
Student Trust in Principal Scale (STP-Scale)	p. 45
Summary	p. 48
Research on Collective Trust	p. 51
Antecedents of Collective Trust: School Evidence	p. 53
External Antecedents	p. 53
Internal Antecedents	p. 57
Empirical Model and Propositions	p. 61
Implications for Schools	p. 64
Summary	p. 66
Consequences of Collective Trust: School Evidence	p. 68
The Rutgers Studies	p. 69
The Ohio State Studies	p. 70
The University of Chicago Studies	p. 71
The Oklahoma State and University of Oklahoma Studies	p. 73
Making Sense of Collective Trust's Consequences	p. 75
Summary	p. 81
Collective Trust and School Effectiveness	p. 83
School Effectiveness	p. 83
Early Research: The Rutgers University Studies	p. 85
The Ohio State Studies: The Missing Link	p. 87
The University of Chicago Studies	p. 95
The Oklahoma State University and University of Oklahoma Studies	p. 96
Summary	p. 99
Collective Trust, Control, and Leadership in Schools	p. 101
The Problems of Cooperation and Predictability	p. 101
Control or Trust	p. 102
The Varieties and Importance of Organizational Context	p. 104
The Need for Trust in Organizations	p. 107
Trust, Control, and Leadership	p. 109
Leadership and Trust in Schools: A Model of Sources	p. 112
Summary	p. 117
Collective Trust as a Condition of Social Capital and Academic Optimism	p. 119
Social Action	p. 119
Collective Trust and Social Capital	p. 122
Collective Trust and Academic Optimism	p. 130
A Synthesizing Model: Social Capital, Academic Optimism, and Social Action	p. 132
Summary	p. 133
Practice and Synthesis	p. 135
Education Policy and Collective Trust	p. 137
Accountability Policy and Collective Trust	p. 138
School Reform Policy and Collective Trust	p. 146
Summary	p. 152
The Practice of School Leadership and Collective Trust	p. 154
Why Is Trust in the Principal Important?	p. 154
Collective Trust, Leadership, and Organizational Citizenship	p. 157
Putting it Together	p. 162
Guidelines for Leadership Practice	p. 166
Epilogue	p. 173
Appendixes	p. 175
References	p. 181
Index	p. 203
About the Authors	p. 217
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