Teachers’ Trust in Role Partners, Intention to Continue in Teaching, and Schools Social Composition in Israel

Abstract

The study examines teachers’ trust in their role partners and its relation to their intention to continue teaching at schools with high and low socioeconomic composition. Based on a questionnaire completed by 149 Israeli teachers in in-service training programs, and interviews with 10 teachers, it was found that teachers attribute different social roles to trust depending on the school’s social composition. In schools with low socioeconomic composition, teachers highly trusted colleagues. In schools with high socioeconomic composition, teachers trusted clients. Trust was linked to teachers’ plans to continue teaching. The implications of these findings regarding teachers’ work are discussed.