Teachers' Views on Organizational Trust and Administrators' Crisis Management

Abstract

This study investigated teachers’ perceptions of school principals’ crisis management skills and organizational trust, examined the relationship between these perceptions, and explored differences according to personal variables. Utilizing a relational survey model, the research was conducted with 228 teachers from primary and secondary schools in Bolu during the 2023–2024 academic year. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and Spearman’s Rho correlation tests. Findings indicated that teachers were “undecided” regarding principals’ crisis management skills in the pre-crisis and during-crisis stages, but “agreed” with statements about post-crisis practices. Organizational trust was rated at the “agree” level overall and across sub-dimensions: trust in colleagues, trust in administrators, and trust in the institution. Analysis of personal variables revealed that only the teaching field significantly influenced views on crisis management during the crisis phase, while gender significantly affected trust in administrators. Correlation analysis showed a moderately to strongly positive and significant relationship between teachers’ organizational trust and principals’ crisis management skills at both the overall scale and sub-dimension levels. The findings suggest that strengthening crisis management practices may enhance organizational trust in educational settings