Distrust characterizes much of the current political discourse in the United States today. It shapes our feelings about teachers, schools, and policies. 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 where distrust has been acknowledged and repaired successfully. By creating spaces that honor human dignity, Schultz argues, it is possible to replace a culture of systemic distrust built over time.
About the Author: Katherine Schultz is Dean and Professor of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education. Her scholarly work has focused on the research, development, and dissemination of practices that support new and veteran teachers working with marginalized populations in high-poverty areas. Her two recent books, Listening: A Framework for Teaching Across Differences and Rethinking Classroom Participation: Listening to Silent Voices, address these issues. In particular, she is interested in talking and writing about educational issues for a wide array of public audiences. Since coming to Colorado, one of her areas of focus has been to work with the faculty to develop place-based partnerships including student teaching, professional development, research, policy, and community-engaged projects in three areas: Northeast Colorado, Lafayette (in Boulder County), and the Five Points area of Denver. She has examined and lived the issues of distrust as a teacher, principal, professional development leader, school board member, faculty member, dean, and concerned citizen.