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.
