by André Double
“If there is any known ingredient for a thriving community, it’s trust. The belief that another is not out to harm or deceive you acts as a civic ‘lubricant’ that stimulates tolerance, solidarity, equality, democracy and prosperity”.
In the Atlas of European Values(2022), authors Halman et. al, described trust as the “‘synthetic force’ for social cohesion” (p.64). In our international schools, that trust begins from day one – when a teacher and leader agree to work with each other – and in doing so presume ‘positive intent’ – that both the teacher and the school are there to make a difference to the lives of their students. Think of all of the things that trust allows us to do as a society. To care for our elderly. To have faith in the taxi driver who will drive us safely and ensure that we arrive at the intended destination. To eat food that is free from disease and overuse of chemicals. In our schools, we need trust to ensure teachers will deliver the right curriculum at the right time to our students and that our colleagues will respect each other’s rights. Our students trust our staff implicitly to keep them safe and away from harm. And, we need our parents to show trust in us that our model of education and its value-system will deliver the best possible start in life for our students.
What is Trust?
The political economist and sociologist Francis Fukuyama (1995) described trust as: “the expectation that arises within a community of regular, honest, and cooperative behaviour, based on shared norms.” He goes on to link trust to social capital and cultural norms, asserting that high-trust societies foster stronger economies and institutions. Mutual trust, it is argued, as well as breeding the conditions for social interaction, drives economic growth and is a key ingredient for our overall economic progress. Although trust is not explicitly mentioned in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as a named level, it is foundational to progressing through the hierarchy, especially in the second and third levels of safety and love and belonging. To participate in deep and meaningful relationships with our partners, family and friends, we need a high degree of trust.
“Trust is the expectation that arises within a community of regular, honest, and cooperative behaviour, based on shared norms.”
The Value of Trust to Our International Schools
When trust is high in our international schools, parents feel safe to be kept at arm’s length from their children’s education. Boards focus overwhelmingly on securing the ongoing mission of the school and ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of students in a school’s care is paramount. When trust is low, on the other hand, teachers begin to question (negatively) the policies, systems and pedagogical practices of a school. Parents feel less secure, and doubts begin to creep in from a Board whose members may feel that the operational management of the school is not what it should be. It takes a huge amount of trust to enable a principal to do what they have been hired to do. Indeed, according to Hodgson and Chuck (2015), “Few Board Members realise early on the important balance demanded between being legally responsible for the school and yet not being part of its day-to-day management”. The value of trust in our international schools between the Principal and Board can more often than not be make or break. Consider the international school context where you are. What is societal trust like? What would you trust people to do/not to do?
According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report – Trust at Work, 79% of employees globally trust their employer. Business in general was (66%), NGOs (57%), government (55%), and media (52%).
Is Societal Trust Enhancing or Eroding?
- In Denmark, interpersonal trust is high.
- In Albania, interpersonal trust is low.
- In France, interpersonal trust is neither high nor low.
The table below compares the most trusting of Europeans (from Denmark) to those least trusting (from Albania). As an International school Principal, how might this affect the way that you build trust? How might it affect the way you articulate and communicate your curriculum? One observable trend is that education seems to be an insulator of trust.
Halman et, al, (2022. p. 64)
According to Halaman et. al, “Worldwide, Scandinavian countries score highest in interpersonal trust”. It could be argued that political polarisation, disinformation, and rising inequality have undermined trust in many Western democracies, particularly the U.S., U.K., and parts of Eastern Europe. Institutional trust – the trust that teachers, parents and stakeholders place in our schools can at times be volatile. Events like scandals, crises, or ineffective governance can all have serious consequences for our international schools. When it comes to Interpersonal Trust, in the 2023 OECD Trust Survey, 83% of Irish respondents reported high or moderately high trust in most people, the highest among all OECD countries. As someone who had an Irish Grandmother, I can wholeheartedly understand how this score can be so high.
How Can We Build Trust?
We build trust when people know each other. One of the things that often strikes me about living and working in China is that so few people seem to want to invest time in getting to know Chinese culture, its people and purpose. It can take an inordinate amount of time. I’ve never witnessed a crime here; never been a victim of crime, and the trust society places in its people is a fundamental part of its society. Mandeep Rai attributes pragmatism as the core value of China, illustrating in her book a personal anecdote where a fellow bus passenger in Xi’an took swift and unconventional action to help her disembark at her intended stop. This, she noted, exemplified the Chinese tendency to prioritise practical solutions over procedural norms. To build trust in China, it is fundamental that owners and parents know you can get the job done.
Videos that continue to circulate online from Rome and tourist destinations in London show us that pickpocketing has become almost epidemic. Knowing who to trust when on holiday and when working in another country is vital to keep us safe. Consider, in the UK in the year ending June 2024, approximately 36% (69,184 offences) of all sexual offences recorded by the police were rape offences. The support and guidance we give to our students travelling overseas has never been more important than it is now.
To build trust, Kouzes & Posner and Bryk & Schneider suggest leaders should model ethical and transparent leadership. They do this when they:
- Are consistent in decision-making and follow through on commitments.
- Share rationale for decisions, especially when they affect students, staff, or the community.
- Admit mistakes and be open about what you’re learning or changing.
An Omani Perspective…
Studies from Oman public school principals about trust and adopting distributed leadership practices suggest leaders should:
- Encourage shared decision-making and involve teachers in leadership roles.
- A study involving 201 teachers in Omani public schools found a significant positive correlation between distributed leadership and trust levels, particularly in organisational aspects (r = 0.891).
Summary
Trust and relational trust in our international schools is a vital ingredient that helps develop a culture in which a consistent shared set of norms and expectations can be lived and breathed on a daily basis. It allows people to feel safe and develops an environment in which people are expected to make good decisions for themselves and others. Edmondson’s work on ‘Team Psychological Safety’ is also a useful strategy for international school principals to continue to develop trust in their leadership, the work of the school and its ongoing reputation.
Definition:
“A belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.”— Edmondson, 1999
Questions for further thinking…
- Who do you most trust in life, and why?
- If there was one thing that your school could do to improve its trust with parents, what might it be?
- How can we tap into the values of high-trust societies within our own school stakeholder communities and at the same time build stronger foundations with those who have lower levels of trust?
The Leading Your International School Qualification (LYIS-Q) launches in September. If you’d like to contribute a leadership ‘Voice from the field‘ to it, do get in contact:
Email: andre@leadingyourinternationalschool.com WeChat: AndreDouble
