“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.”
―
Every educator knows the importance of trust. Trust is the foundation upon which relationships are built – and relationships are the foundation of teaching and learning.
All good teachers have an intuitive sense of how to develop trust in the classroom, which is great. But the problem is, when we rely only on intuition, there’s a chance that we’re missing opportunities to develop and leverage trust more effectively.
Referencing decades of psychological research, The Trust Project at Northwestern University, in Illinois has identified three dimensions of trust: competence, honesty, and benevolence.
Competence relates to the perception of a person being able to do a job – to teach the Year 8 Science curriculum, for example. Honesty relates to the perception that the teacher keeps their promises and is authentic. Benevolence relates to the belief that the teacher genuinely has the students’ best interests at heart.
When any one of these components is overemphasised at the expense of another, trust is harmed. I’m sure we can all think of educators who are so desperate to prove their level of competence that they fail to be fully open and honest about their limitations.
There’s no shortcut to building real trust – it takes time. But it is a simple recipe:
- Be competent. Prepare, plan, work harder than your students.
- Be honest. Make promises and keep them. Be consistent. Be professional.
- Be benevolent. Care. And let students know you care. Keep an open heart.
And listen to your intuition. Not always, but often – it will guide you towards a constructive balance of the three components of trust.
David's Blog 