The culmination of nearly three decades of research, "Collective Trust" offers new insight and practical knowledge on the social construction of trust for school improvement. The authors argue that "collective trust" is not merely an average trust score for a group, but rather an independent concept with distinctive origins and consequences. The…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine and condense the literature on influence and persuasion. Design/methodology/approach: The article identifies basic principles of influence in the theoretical and research literature, which are supported by empirical study. Findings: Ten principles of influence were identified, empirical support…

Purpose: The aim of this study was two-fold: to demonstrate a general construct of schools called academic optimism and to show it was related to student achievement in urban elementary schools, even controlling for socioeconomic factors, and school size. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 99 urban elementary schools in Texas…

Draws on theoretical and empirical literature on trust over four decades and brings that literature to bear on relationships of trust in schools. Synthesizes this research as it relates to such processes as communication, collaboration, climate, organizational citizenship, collective efficacy, achievement, and effectiveness. (Author/SLD)

Explores the complex nature and meaning of faculty trust; examines the impact of faculty trust in students and parents on student achievement. Finds that faculty trust is an important aspect of student achievement. Provides practical implications and recommendations for administrators and school boards. (Contains 1 figure and 23 references.) (PKP)

Conceptualizes faculty loyalty as a multidimensional construct with at least four levels of loyalty, to the district, principal, colleagues, and the association. Discusses a New Jersey study probing organizational factors that facilitate development of faculty loyalty in urban elementary schools. School properties predicting one aspect of loyalty…

A survey of teachers examined principals' roles in influencing school effectiveness, noting the influence of supportive leadership style on a culture of trust and perceived school effectiveness. Results indicated supportive principal leadership produced collegiality and trust in principals but not in colleagues. Teacher trust in colleagues…

Researchers have been challenged to go beyond socioeconomic status in the search for school-level characteristics that make a difference in student achievement. The purpose of the present study was to identify a new construct, academic optimism, and then use it to explain student achievement while controlling for socioeconomic status, previous…

Examines several dimensions of high school organizational health and faculty trust factors involving students, colleagues, principals, and parents. Finds that the greater the degree of faculty trust the better the organizational health of a school. Draws implications for research and practice. (Contains 26 references.) (PKP)

Background: The paradox of relying on routines and standard practices, which protect institutional functioning from the vagaries of personality, often comes at the cost of thoughtful adaptability. Purpose: The objectives are to conceptualize and apply the construct of mindfulness to schools and to explore trust as a school condition that fosters…

Develops a multifaceted definition of faculty trust at three organizational levels in a survey of urban elementary teachers. Along with willingness to risk vulnerability, five faces of trust emerged: benevolence, reliability, competence, honesty, and openness. When teachers trust their principals, they usually trust one other and their clients.…

A parsimonious measure of organizational climate of high schools is developed and tested in this research. The Organizational Climate Index (OCI) captures open and healthy dimensions of high school climates at the student, teacher, principal, and community levels. Next the relationship between the climate of schools and faculty trust is examined…

Argues that teacher trust in students and parents is critical to school success. Details study showing that even after accounting for variation among schools in student demographic characteristics, prior achievement, and school socioeconomic status, trust was a significant positive predictor of differences among schools in student achievement.…

After a theoretical analysis of the concept of organizational citizenship is elaborated, we complete an analysis of the characteristics of school organization that promote citizenship behaviors. We assume that the leadership of the principal is critical in such an endeavor as well as the trust that colleagues have in each other and the extent to…

The concept of organizational justice is defined, and, based on a review of the literature, ten principles of organizational justice are elaborated. Similarly, the elements of faculty trust are conceptualized and discussed. Then, a model of organizational justice and trust is proposed and tested using path analysis. The results underscore the…