Distrust and Educational Change

In Distrust and Educational Change, Katherine Schultz argues that distrust--and the failure to recognize and address it--significantly contributes to the failure of policies meant to improve educational systems. The strategies the United States has chosen to enact reform engender distrust, and in so doing, undermine the conditions that enable meaningful educational change. In situations in which distrust--rather than trust--predominates, teachers and principals are reluctant to transform their educational practice. Through a set of illustrative stories, Schultz analyzes the role of distrust in the failure of educational change and transformation. By creating a taxonomy that includes three kinds of distrust--relational, structural, and contextual--she suggests ways to analyze, understand, and discuss the impact of distrust on schools, districts, and large-scale educational processes. She concludes by offering concrete recommendations for addressing distrust in classrooms, schools, and districts; discusses the roles played by teachers, principals, parents, and students in building trust; and points to schools and programs in which distrust has been acknowledged and repaired successfully. "Schultz reminds us that trust is required for educators to do their jobs well, and that current policies and practices have upended trust. She makes a convincing argument about how distrust has come to rule the decision-making processes of many in power, and how poor decision-making, at least in the US, may be due to the rise and overuse of high-stakes testing. She also alludes to the ways in which distrust now permeates many of our democratic institutions--her analysis may help us understand why." --Linda Nathan, executive director, Center for Artistry and Scholarship Katherine Schultz is dean and professor of education at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education.