Co-navigating the Complexities of School Reform: The Establishment and On-going Maintenance of Relational Trust in School Reform Efforts

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to examine the ways in which the principal and literacy coach collectively developed and maintained relational trust in order to establish school literacy reform efforts. Drawing from a larger set of data, we employed qualitative methods to explore interviews and surveys from the principals and literacy coaches at two different schools who were able to implement literacy reform for several consecutive years. The relational trust established between the coach and principal enabled them to co-navigate issues that might have otherwise impeded literacy reform efforts in their school. Acting together, the principal and the coach were able to communicate a common vision for literacy reform, which resulted in increased implementation of the reform framework in their schools.