The world of education has emerged from COVID-19 with a much-needed focus on wellbeing. To achieve strong student outcomes, Professor John Hattie’s research reminds us that collective teacher efficacy, and its leading 1.57 effect size, can only occur when teachers are in a state of wellbeing. Teaching staff must constantly strive to improve, be accountable to their schools, and intend to stay in their positions long-term for an international school to experience sustained success.
The question then becomes: How do we keep staff happy and engaged whilst constantly focused on continued learning? We achieve this by creating conditions of trust that empower teachers and make them want to grow professionally.
Two schools I have worked in have successfully implemented Trust-Based Observations (TBO) to promote a culture of trust and wellbeing. This model solves the tension between fostering growth and teachers’ resistance to being observed. It allows for a focus on improved teaching and learning within the school whilst creating an environment where teachers look forward to observations and embrace taking risks to improve their teaching. This article explores my TBO journey as a leader and offers practical tips for other schools looking to build a sustainable culture of wellbeing and trust.
The Challenges: High Turnover and Professional Differences
At one school, the desire was, like most, to create a culture of wellbeing. However, high staff turnover was a persistent issue, leading to a lack of continuity in both teaching and leadership, and this resulted in the leadership team turning their attention to hiring as opposed to continued learning. This instability made it difficult to plan, let alone implement, long-term learning initiatives.
Professional differences within the school community also posed a challenge. With our staff, there was great diversity in teacher training backgrounds. How could we create a common language and belief system among all school leaders and teachers when talking about teaching and learning practices? Furthermore, how could this common language survive through changes in leadership in the school? This school needed to find a way to establish a framework for having conversations around teaching and learning that all teachers embraced, that built psychological safety and trust, and that led to a workplace satisfaction that would endure.
The Solution: A Trust-Based Approach to Wellbeing
To tackle these challenges, the school adopted Trust-Based Observations (TBO). Unlike traditional observation methods, which often feel punitive to teachers, TBO emphasizes building relational trust and fostering open communication between teachers and observers. This system creates a supportive environment where teachers feel empowered to share their challenges and successes without fear of judgment.
Implementation began with a five-day training course led by Craig Randall, the creator and author of Trust-Based Observations. The training builds mastery of the TBO process through a repeated four-part process of observing teachers for 20 minutes, reflecting on the observations, leading trust-building conversations, and reflecting on these conversations. Throughout the TBO training course, leaders build expertise in research-based pedagogical strategies, as well as in the specific trust-building strategies used in the reflective conversations.
Leaders develop a common understanding of what to look for during observations, and the reflective conversations empower teachers to take charge of their own professional development by asking and answering questions to do with how they thought their lesson went. The result was that teachers felt seen, understood, and were already thinking about how they could better themselves. Observations became something to look forward to, rather than something to be feared.
“For international schools, building trusting relationships with teaching staff, and shifting towards a collaborative, growth-oriented approach to observations with a focus on professional development, will create an environment wherein teachers feel supported and empowered to innovate.”
Building a Culture of Trust
During my first TBO training, I was inspired by the excitement teachers had during the reflective conversations. You could see their eyes light up at the thought of being able to go back into the classroom, energised and eager to improve their practice based on solutions found in their own self-reflection. Word spread around the school, and suddenly there was a huge buzz surrounding Trust-Based Observations. Indeed, on the last day of training, three unobserved teachers approached us separately and commented, almost verbatim, “I was hoping you would get a chance to come to my classroom; I wanted to be observed. Why didn’t you come to my classroom?” Though we visited many classrooms during the course, it was not possible to observe every teacher, and the tone and style of Trust-Based Observations resulted in teachers wanting, I repeat, wanting to be observed.
At another school, I observed a specialist teacher as part of the TBO model. During the reflective conversation, the teacher opened up and explained that, as a specialist, he was not often observed. Though he was relieved in some ways to avoid the process, he expressed his disappointment in being denied the chance to grow based on the feedback he could have been regularly receiving. The teacher was so happy to know that specialists were included in the TBO model, with their strengths duly recognised throughout the process. He felt valued; he knew that he would have the chance to learn and grow with the help of his colleagues.
These stories highlight how TBO builds a strong culture of trust and positive wellbeing, leading to long-term schoolwide growth, to such an extent that Professor John Hattie describes TBO as “collective teacher efficacy in action.” For international schools, building trusting relationships with teaching staff, and shifting towards a collaborative, growth-oriented approach to observations with a focus on professional development, will create an environment wherein teachers feel supported and empowered to innovate. Ultimately, this will lead to improved teaching and learning outcomes.
Practical Tips for Creating a Sustainable Culture of Trust
- Commit to frequent, informal classroom observations and reflective discussions.
- Recognise the vulnerability inherent in the observation process; openly acknowledge the often-stressful nature of the experience.
- Shift the focus from evaluating pedagogy to understanding the teacher’s mindset. Research makes it clear that the rating of pedagogy inhibits trust and causes teachers to stop taking risks to grow their practice.
Kate O’Connell is an Educational Leadership Coach and Workshop Facilitator, and a previous Head of School.
