Date of Award
Fall 2022
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Education
Abstract
This study aims to make a concrete connection between trust in schools and school climate. Research indicates that both trust and school climate can positively impact school experiences and performance for teachers and students, but no formal connection has been made between these two elements of schools. In order to answer this study’s research questions of “What differences in frequency and context of trust dimensions exist between student surveys and teacher surveys?” and “How are survey items related to trust dispersed across school climate domains?”, a directed qualitative content analysis was performed. School climate surveys administered to students and teachers were sampled and analyzed to identify the presence of words and phrases used to define or indicate trust. Findings indicate that the sampled surveys included both deductive and inductive indicators that trust is measured in part through school climate surveys. However, not all facets of trust are equally present across or within student and teacher school climate surveys. This indicates that while there does appear to be a connection between school climate and trust, school climate surveys as they exist currently are not an effective measure of trust in schools.
Recommended Citation
Thyen, Katherine, "Connecting School Climate and Trust: A Content Analysis of Elements of Trust in Student and Staff School Climate Surveys" (2022). Master's Theses. 4435.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/4435
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2022 Katherine Thyen
