Why does institutional trust matter?
Before you undertake FSA, you need to make sure you have institutional support and have amassed the professional trust you require to go on this adventure with students. Why does this matter? According to Hattie (2012), the stronger the feeling of trust among a school community (administrators, teachers, and students), the more successful the school will be – this trust is an essential element of effective schools and programs.
There are four components of relational trust (Hattie, 2012):
- Respect and recognition (you see the value of each other’s role in the learning process)
- Competency (you can achieve the desired student learning outcomes)
- Personal regard (you respect each other)
- Integrity (you demonstrate consistency between words and actions)
These elements of relational trust need to be in place since all stakeholders at a college must work together to offer students high-quality, cost-effective study abroad programs (Spencer & Tuma, 2017).