The Visualization of a Critical Element in K-20 Learning

Abstract

This chapter addresses the necessity of a clearer understanding of the critical element of trust in all learning environments. Research on educational trust is limited, with research on trust from the learner’s perspective almost non-existent. Recent doctoral dissertation research provides a model of a trusting facilitator. This chapter presents result from that study, presenting results of a survey assessing the learners’ perspective of the facilitators’ trust and a new instrument to determine the presence of trust in the learning environment. The purpose in this chapter is to call attention to the elemental phenomenon of trust, to encourage individual reflection, to endorse trust from the learners’ perspective including continued research and implementation of trust into all educational environments.