Relational trust has proven to be an important predictor of school achievement in the United States and can lead to innovation, problem-solving, and collective action in school communities (Bryk and Schneider, 2002). This study investigates relational trust in the secondary education system of the Dominican Republic, where trust may prove beneficial in promoting achievement and efficiency rates in schools, as well as ensuring successful reform in periods of change. The study examines which school-level characteristics are associated with relational trust, and then asks whether relational trust is associated with school performance.
A random sample of Dominican secondary schools was drawn, and directors and teachers provided measurements of relational trust, school, director, and teacher characteristics. Results were mixed: only teacher-director trust and teacher-parent trust were positively linked with Pruebas Nacionales (PNnational exit exam) scores while no types of trust were associated with PN qualifying rates (the percentage of seniors matriculated at the beginning of the year who qualified for the exam). Policy recommendations resulting from an analysis of these data include isolating overage students from properly age synchronized students, investing in classroom resources, and promoting administrative continuity and designated staff space to encourage social relationships between directors, teachers, students, parents, and community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-04102008-135721 |
| Date | 05 May 2008 |
| Creators | Pelczar, Marisa |
| Contributors | Laura M. Desimone, Thomas M. Smith, Stephen P. Heyneman, Mark Berends |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-04102008-135721/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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