Trust in Schools: Teacher Trust and Adequate Yearly Progress
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Authors
Adkins, Jasmine Tatch
Issue Date
2012-01-19
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Stakeholder Trust
Alternative Title
Abstract
Trust among stakeholders at a school has been linked to the academic success of students. This quantitative causal comparative study involved examining the relationship between teacher-reported trust and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results for 59 schools, across 12 school districts in south Georgia. Certified teachers from each school completed an online survey, which asked them to rate the extent to which they disagreed or agreed with statements pertaining to trust using a Likert scale rating of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). A trust in principal and trust in colleague rating was assigned for each school. Next, each school’s AYP results were collected and coded numerically. A number (1 to 5) was assigned to schools based on their AYP results.
A statistically significant correlation between teacher trust in colleagues and a school’s AYP result was found, rs(59) = .50, p <.001. Also, a significant correlation between teacher trust in colleagues and teacher trust in principal was found, rs(59) = .62, p <.001. Finally, analysis of the data showed a significant correlation between trust in colleagues and the reported effectiveness of the school’s Professional Learning Community (PLC), rs(59) = .31, p =.02 These findings indicate a need to identify and improve trust between stakeholders within schools. With schools under pressure to meet AYP requirements, improving the trust between colleagues and between teachers and the principal may help strengthen collaboration and improve the culture of a school, with a possible outcome of increased student achievement.