Building Trust with Educators After Covid-19

Following the pandemic, it became crucial to establish trust with teachers in order to retain them and keep them engaged. Building trust regarding school safety and implementing COVID-19 related measures, such as ensuring the presence of systems and procedures, was of utmost importance. The REDS study highlighted that educators felt supported by school leadership and colleagues, underlining the significance of support beyond academic aspects in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic (Meinck et al., 2022). As students returned from remote learning, their behaviors posed more challenges, prompting principals to foster trust with faculty through the creation of systems and structures to address student behavior. Educators also voiced concerns about their roles as primary learning facilitators and the ethical dilemmas associated with student conduct (Diego et al., 2021). Teachers became frustrated when behavioral issues were left unattended, feeling powerless as many students exhibited significant social-emotional needs and struggled to connect with their peers. The heightened anxiety among teachers upon returning to work also impacted the overall school atmosphere (Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al., 2021). Apprehensions about contagion, academic setbacks, maintaining routines, and monitoring student progress hindered the establishment and maintenance of trust between principals and teachers during the transition back to face-to-face learning (Wakui et al., 2021).