Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools

by Megan Tschannen-Moran

Trust Matters offers educators a practical, hands-on guide for establishing and maintaining trust within their schools as well as providing information on how to repair trust that has been damaged. Written by Megan Tschannen-Moran—an expert on the topic of trust and schools— Trust Matters is based in solid research. It outlines the five key elements on which individuals base their trust judgments (benevolence, honesty, openness, reliability, and competency) and explores the factors that influence the development of trust. The book explores the leader’s role in fostering high quality relationships among teachers, students, and parents and examines examples of positive outcomes of trusting school environments.

Genres: Education, Leadership, Grad School

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 24, 2004

Reviews

[David Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, full of interesting reflection on the nature of trust and the role it plays in developing and sustaining successful schools.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t as relevant to me right now as I️ expected it to be, but I’ll re-read this next time I’m new to a school.

[Trina R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a leader to read.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should you read this book if you're in a position of leadership in schools? Yes. Is it the most revolutionary book I've ever read? No. Is it 100% worth the time. Yup.

[Lmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for those looking to establish trusting relationships with their teaching staff.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A resource full of quantitative research and anecdotes/patterns from qualitative studies that all support the importance of trust in schools. As a principal I was taking strategies from the book and applying them in my context while I was still reading. Before engaging in study around school culture/climate or collective efficacy, do your homework and understand trust!

[Nick Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have jumped the gun a bit in reading this book, but I got so excited about working in school leadership that I couldn't help it. The reason I'm not giving it more than three stars is that I think it will become much more helpful to me when I am a practitioner than it is at the moment. At any rate, it provided a good mix of insights that I relate to from my own socioprofessional experiences and ones that seem new and useful to me.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The names were changed to protect the guilty in this book, but the stories did not convince me that this was the only interpretation that I could have reached after hearing the evidence. I KNOW that trust does matter, but this book did very little to influence my actions, experience, or opinions on this important topic.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a district leadership cohort. Good insight into the importance of trust in order to make change. I liked the three "characters" that were woven in as examples. I found myself saying "I know a Gloria...", etc. I recommend to all leaders trying to implement change or improve culture/climate.

[Christal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that every administrator, including superintendents, district administrators, and school site administrators should read if dealing with toxic school cultures. Bottom line, trust is earned and it must start from the top.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive and primarily for principals, although some ideas apply to anyone. Not especially thought-provoking.

[Marie Schuh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for Family and Community Engagement course for Admin Masters program. Very easy to read but informative.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on leadership!