The Role of Credibility

Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and How Learning Works.

So you want to have an impact on students and the schools they attend? That’s probably why you are reading this journal. You care about the outcomes of your efforts and you look for the best practices that move learning forward. You move from ideation to implementation and dedicate hours to honing your craft. Even with all of that, sometimes our efforts fail to have the impact that we desire. Perhaps that’s because we have not invested sufficiently in credibility and, instead, spent all our time focused on the teaching rather than the learning.

Here’s how we landed on credibility. We were observing classrooms with essentially the same lessons. Not scripted lessons or prescriptive lessons. But rather lessons that the teachers had planned together based on what were then the new standards. There were many similarities among the classrooms. The same strategies were used to address the same learning intentions. The same materials were provided to students and the same tasks were assigned.

But the impact differed widely. In our search to explain these differences, we found the evidence on teacher credibility and by extension leader credibility. And we were surprised by the impact; the effect size of teacher credibility is 1.09, among the highest influences on students’ learning. There wasn’t an effect size for leader credibility, and the term is rarely used in education, but the studies in business, government, nonprofits, and healthcare were stunning. Leaders with high credibility create environments where people are happier and more productive. We do know that a healthy school climate has a positive impact on students’ learning, with an effect size of .44, just above average in the impact it has. The question is, what is teacher credibility and leader credibility and how can we develop it? Importantly, we don’t get to decide if we are credible, our students (or staff members in the case of leaders) do. It turns out there are four aspects of teacher credibility and five for leaders.

The first aspect of credibility for teachers and leaders is relational trust. The people around us want to know if we have their best interests at heart and if we are reliable and honest. Others look to our actions to decide if we are trustworthy. Remember, trust is easier to gain than regain. Start out right by using students’ names. Establish routines and follow them. Be honest with students and explain when you can’t explain something. Think about the trusting relationships you have with others and apply those rules in the classroom and school. It really is simple but without attention can get easily violated.

You’re a teacher and you said that we were going to an assembly on Friday but we didn’t (and you didn’t tell us why). Trust is tarnished. You told a student that they did a good job, when it really was average. Trust is tarnished. You said something harsh in frustration and didn’t apologize. Trust is tarnished. When trust is violated, it is human nature to look for additional evidence that the person is not trustworthy. When something goes wrong, make amends. Apologize. Give it time and forgive yourself. Tomorrow is a new day and you can work to rebuild trust.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include Visible Learning in Literacy, This Is Balanced Literacy, Removing Labels, and Rebound. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day.

This applies to leaders as well. Do staff members trust you? Are you trustworthy? Are you honest and reliable? And do you apologize and then explain when things go wrong, making amends whenever possible? Like teachers, your actions are noticed. When you are disrespectful to someone, we all think that we could be next. As Covey (2008) tried to teach us in The Speed of Trust: when trust exists, things go faster. If you are thinking of a new initiative or program and you do not have the trust of the staff, it’s doomed to fail. An investment in trust is an investment in the wellbeing of the school.

Students have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours with teachers. They know what good lessons feel like. And they know when they are not learning or when it is chaos in the classroom. When teachers change their strategies too frequently, students believe that the teacher doesn’t know how to teach. When lessons are not organized and the examples are irrelevant, students question the competence, and thus the credibility, of the teacher.

There is a difference when it comes to leaders. The vast majority of teachers have not been principals (or coaches or even department chairs) and thus there is less clarity about the skills needed to do the job. So leader competence is judged by communication skills. It seems that nearly every challenge in a school has a lack of communication as a root cause. The solution in this case is more and different communication. Leaders need effective communication systems. Perhaps the guidelines for a phone call, text message, versus email are not clear. Under what circumstances should I, as an employee in this school, call, text, or email you? And perhaps there needs to be daily updates provided by leaders about the goings-on of the school. Those are just ideas; our point here is that communication is a key driver in perceived credibility of leaders and ineffective communication systems compromise impact.

Interesting word, right? The dictionary says that dynamism means that you’re full of energy. But when it comes to credibility, it’s more than that. Yes, the environment (schools and classrooms) should be full of energy, but they should also be filled with passionate people who care deeply about learning. People who exhibit dynamism are confident and they choose to engage; they are not passive participants. One of the ways that we compromise our dynamism is through our presentations. When we project terrible slides, with lots of words and generic images, people start to wonder if we care about their learning. When the oral part of the presentation is simply reading the slides, perceptions of both dynamism and competence suffer.

Of course, dynamism is not limited to the ways in which we present information. Wangberg (1996) notes that “the best teachers are people who are passionate about their subject and passionate about sharing that subject with others” (p. 199). He argues that there are at least four ways to demonstrate passion in the classroom:

1. enthusiasm

2. immersion in the subject

3. creative and innovative approaches

4. the teacher as a learner

In other words, it’s not about changing our personalities. Yes, some people are more reserved than others. It’s about choosing to as do the places we put our body. For example, the following non-verbal clues signal to others that they are valued:

• Facial expressions

• Proximity

• Eye contact

• Tone of voice

• Gestures

• Touch

In the classroom, it’s proximity. In other words, how close you get to students in the physical space. Teachers can use proximity as a classroom management tool as well as a tool to convey to students that there is a connection. The same goes for leaders. In some schools, it’s demonstrate passion for the learning process, which applies to leaders as well. Leaders need to be passionate about education, including the learning of teachers.

Essentially, immediacy is about being there—being present, both physically and mentally. Students perceive this as closeness and relatedness. Can they connect with you as a person? We are not suggesting that teachers should be friends with students but rather that there is a connection, a bond if you will, that allows people to feel connected. Our verbal and non-verbal behaviors convey immediacy rare to see the leaders move around the building, while in others they seem to be everywhere, talking with everyone. For example, do leaders attend professional learning events alongside teachers? Immediacy can be fostered when people are learning together.

The final aspect of credibility, which was only found in the research on leaders and not teachers, focuses on the ability to be optimistic and plan for the future. People who work in schools want to know where their organization is going and how they fit into the future. They want leaders to have plans for the future and be able to lead the way. As Kouzes and Posner (2009) note, what people want most from their leaders, as opposed to colleagues, is to be forward looking. They want to be part of an organization that is mission driven, goal oriented, and well prepared for the challenges ahead.

It seems reasonable to suggest that students would appreciate something similar. They want to know where they are going as a class and what goals they will accomplish. And they want to know that they will be prepared for the challenges ahead, be that tomorrow or well into their future. We have created a survey item that you can use to assess your ability to be a forward thinking leader (see below.)

Conclusion

As you think about the impact that you want to have in the classroom or school, it’s important to recognize that new initiatives and programs are more likely to be implemented by individuals who are credible. And we can take actions to improve our credibility and thus have a greater impact on the people around us.

Covey, S. (2008). The speed of trust: The one thing that changes everything. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2009). To lead, create a shared vision. Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2009/01/to-lead-createa-shared-vision

Wangberg, J.K. (1996). Teaching with a passion. American Entymologist, 42(4), 199-200.