Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Sometimes even principals with the best of intentions don't get it right..." (more)
Key Phrases: faculty trust, trustworthy leadership, optimal trust, Grade Level Night, Lincoln School, Camp Night (more...)

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

Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (August 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078797434X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787974343
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #179,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 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)

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 2 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

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.

2.0 out of 5 stars A Very Limited & Dated Thesis, albeit with Good Examples, April 6, 2008

By	Surrounded by Books (USA) - See all my reviews

This book provides a rather limited thesis that will seem rather dated to students of business leadership (i.e. "theory X" vs "theory Y"). Still, the examples are worth a quick read. Ultimately, the book supports its point that "Trust Matters", and provides a rather basic framework for building and maintaining "trust", although it seems more focused on doing so with teachers than with parents and students. As such, it also falls short in its attempt to fulfill its subtitle - "Leadership for Successful Schools". Don't be fooled into expecting more than a rather basic introduction into "trust" in educational setting - and look to business leadership books for a more thoughtful and more "cutting edge" discussion of "trust" in professional relationships. This book would have been better presented as a lengthy journal article, and should be read as such.