Trust Matters

An honest guide for educational leaders

This second edition of Trust Matters takes the first practical, hands-on guide for educators and inserts new research and insights. This book is a knowledgeable, professional reference addressing the critical role of trust among teachers, students, schools, and families. This edition of Trust Matters takes a purposeful approach to profiling the difficulty leaders in education face in earning and maintaining trust. Author and leading scholar Megan Tschannen-Moran uses exhaustive research to outline why trust is important now more than ever as we find ourselves in a changing world where suspicion, fear, and skepticism tend to erode educational relationships. This book offers updated advice about how to build and maintain trust to secure the healthy functioning of educational organizations.

“Successful leadership in schools depends upon trust: trust in the principal by teachers and trust in the school by its community. And no one has done a better job of explaining this critical dynamic than Megan Tschannen-Moran. This book is a must-read for all current and aspiring school leaders.”

—DR. STEPHEN JACOBSON, UB distinguished professor, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

“Very few things are more fundamental to the impact of school leaders’ work than trusting relationships with and among staff, parents, and students. Based on the best available evidence, and written in a highly accessible fashion, this book provides both comprehensive and remarkably practical guidelines for building, recovering, and sustaining the trust leaders need to provide their students with a great education. Do everyone you work with a favor—read it!”

—KENNETH LEITHWOOD, professor emeritus, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

“Trust matters to everyone involved in the social enterprise of schooling because it is both central and elusive among students, teachers, leaders, parents, and community members. Megan Tschannen-Moran, prominent scholar, translates her research in this area and makes it accessible to educators for immediate use with a style that is clear, sensitive, and insightful.”

—PAMELA D. TUCKER, professor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

“This second edition is even more insightful than the first. Drawing upon a wider range of evidence and placing the need for trust and trustworthiness right in the centre of the school improvement agenda, Tschannen-Moran’s book is a must-read for all educators who care about raising standards.”

—CHRISTOPHER DAY, professor of education, University of Nottingham