Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools [Hardcover]

Megan Tschannen-Moran (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078797434X | ISBN-13: 978-0787974343 | Publication Date: August 24, 2004 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Megan Tschannen-Moran explains with vivid school examples how crucial the element of trust is to developing successful relations among faculty, staff, students, and parent/community members. Leadership void of trust robs a community of its potential to improve. Leadership with trust brings out the best in all of us. In such harried times in education, it is wonderful for leaders, and leaders to be, to have such a wonderfully insightful and descriptive book.”--Carl Glickman, president, The Institute for Schools, Education, and Democracy

“A thoughtful, lively, and carefully examined treatment of a very important topic.  Megan Tschannen-Moran deals with so many easily overlooked aspects of the issue of trust, in ways that reach both heart and mind. This book is practical in the best sense of that word. I hope it finds its way into hands of teachers, policymakers, school-board members, and above all parents. Trust is not merely a technical issue, but at the very heart of the dilemma of education for a democracy.”--Deborah Meier, co-principal, Mission Hills School, Boston, Massachusetts; author, The Power of Their Ideas and In Schools We Trust; and founder, Central Park East Schools

“Every school leader knows that success and the success of the school depends upon trust. What every school leaders does not know is what it means to become a trustworthy leader. Here they will find out.”--Roland S. Barth, author and educational consultant

“Trust Matters is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the importance of trust in schools.  Perfect for a school-wide book study.”--Thomas J. Sergiovanni, Lillian Radford Professor of Education, Trinity University, San Antonio

From the Inside Flap

In today’s complex and rapidly changing environment, trust is difficult to achieve and maintain. However, trust is an essential element for the smooth functioning of any organization and especially in our schools. School leaders must cultivate trust if they are to fulfill their fundamental mission of educating students to be productive citizens.

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.

To clearly illustrate how trust influences the success (or failure) of schools, the author includes three examples of real-life school principals–all working in high-poverty urban elementary schools–to show how they handled the issue of trust. The successful principal balanced a concern for tasks with a concern for relationships within her school and created an environment that fostered trust. The other two principals failed, one because she was an overzealous reformer who alienated her faculty and the other because he lost the faith of his faculty by avoiding conflict. The lessons learned from these experiences provide a guide for establishing trust in our schools.

Each chapter contains a "Putting It into Action" section that offers practical advice for utilizing the book’s key suggestions in schools. The book also provides surveys, scoring directions, and norms for assigning the level of trust in schools.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (August 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078797434X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787974343
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Megan Tschannen-Moran is an Associate Professor in Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership in the School of Education at the College of William and Mary (www.MeganTM.com) and Co-Founder of the Center for School Transformation (www.SchoolTransformation.com). In addition to her books and book chapters, Megan has published over 40 scholarly articles. Megan's research interests focus on coaching and the social psychology of schools, examining the quality of interpersonal relationships and how these impact the outcomes a school can achieve.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Advice for Beleagured Principals, August 31, 2004

By 

LifeTrek Coaching - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools (Hardcover)

The practical advice in this book is invaluable for educational leaders who are under fire in today's climate. At points, it reads like a novel -- with up-close stories of 3 real-life principals. At other points, it reads like a self-help book -- with a comprehensive five-point model for understanding and building trust in schools. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. The applications were obvious and compelling. No school administrator should go without reading this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent advice for educators and PARENTS!, March 5, 2005

By 

Douglas R. McCready (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools (Hardcover)

Megan's "Trust Matters" is an insightful illustration of how important trust is - not only in our schools, but also in our society. While this practical book thoughtfully offers advice geared towards educators, I found that (as a father of three elementary school age children) it provided a terrific perspective for how I can positively contribute to the trust relationship. Megan's "Facets of Trust" (Benevolence, Honesty, Openness, Reliability and Competence) combined with her "Functions of Leadership" (Visioning, Modeling, Coaching, Managing and Mediating) are brilliantly thought out and presented. This book is filled with sound advice for how to create and maintain trust in relationships - in all of life's settings. Get Megan's book - I promise you won't be disappointed! It is truly a MUST READ!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for School Leaders, September 6, 2004

By 

Cynthia A. Lemmerman "Leadership Coach" (Toledo, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools (Hardcover)

I am a school superintendent that is reading the book with my administrative team. The reflective discussion questions at the end of each chapter and the scenarios about the three principals have provided for lively, honest conversations about our daily practices. We are trying to improve our relationships with each other and within our schools. The scenarios are real and we can take each one apart and reflect upon the mistakes we have made and how we are going to encourage each other to improve our relationships in the orgaization and our schools. Applying the material to real life situations with be the true test. The author(Megan Tschannen-MoranI is coming to our district to work with us on how we are applying the princples to our team and in our schools. She is very easy to work with and is tailoring the professional development to our teams questions and needs. Megan is that rare individual you only meet once in a life time.
Don't miss this book if you are working to improve the organization or defining how trust impacts our lives.