Building Trusting Relationships Among Teachers, Learners, and Families: Towards Harmonious Collaboration Among School Stakeholders
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21543848Keywords:
teacher–learner trust, family engagement, collegial trust, school collaboration, inclusive education, stakeholder relationshipsAbstract
This study examined trusting relationships among teachers, learners, families, and fellow teachers as a basis for harmonious collaboration among school stakeholders. A quantitative descriptive-comparative-correlational design was employed among 66 public elementary and secondary school teachers from the Schools Division Office of Antipolo City who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .943. Frequency, percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Scheffé post hoc analysis, and Pearson product-moment correlation were used. Trusting relationships were rated Highly Built for teachers to families (M = 3.69, SD = .33), teachers to teachers (M = 3.66, SD = .37), and teachers to learners (M = 3.60, SD = .31). Strong practices included establishing relationships with learners, maintaining open communication with families, and welcoming students by name. Lower-rated practices involved deliberate ignoring as a behavior-management strategy, collaboration on individualized plans, and connecting every learner with a supportive adult. Teacher–learner trust differed significantly by educational attainment (F = 3.142, p = .031), while seminar participation produced significant differences in all three relational domains (p ≤ .009). Age, sex, length of service, and position or rank generally showed no significant differences. The three trust domains were strongly and positively correlated (r = .796–.863, p < .001). The findings indicate that relational trust functions as an interconnected school capacity and support continuous professional development, structured family collaboration, collegial mentoring, and school-wide communication systems.
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