An analysis of the relationship between teacher trust and achievement for students of Latino and White ethnicities

As educational leaders navigate change initiatives inherent in implementing Common Core academic standards and the Local Control Funding Formula, a focus on research-based practices through which leaders mediate policy and create and support environments in which teachers trust the principal, colleagues, and clients may contribute to academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between teacher trust in the principal, in colleagues, and in the students and parents who are their clients, and academic achievement. Specifically, the association between teacher trust and the difference in achievement between students of Latino and White ethnicities in California schools was investigated. The school percentage of students proficient or advanced on the 2013 California Standards Test in English Language Arts and standardized scores from the Omnibus Trust Scale constituted the data sources for this research. Multiple regressions were the primary statistical tests used to analyze the data. The results showed a statistically significant relationship between school disadvantaged economic status and achievement as well as a statistically significant relationship between school disadvantaged economic status and teacher trust in clients. After controlling for disadvantaged economic status, investigation of the relationship between teacher trust and achievement revealed a statistically significant association between teacher trust in the principal, in colleagues, and in clients and school academic achievement. When examining the relationship between teacher trust and the difference in achievement between students of Latino and White ethnicities, no statistical significance was detected. Additional research on the difference in achievement between students of Latino and White ethnicities, using measures of teacher trust as predictor variables with a larger sample, is recommend