Collective teacher efficacy has the greatest positive impact on student learning over any other researched practice, behavior, or environmental factor. It is the collectively held belief of the teachers that they have the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to meet the needs of their students. It is the understanding that we are greater than the sum of our parts, and our collective strength is a multiplier for individual ability. This incredibly powerful attribute is dependent on the trust teachers have in their colleagues and in their school principal. Without trust, collective teacher efficacy cannot exist. School leaders must then find a means to create opportunities for trust to grow in all professional relationships and apply structures within the school that promote collaboration, shared responsibility, flexibility, and innovation. These enabling school structures are both the means to cultivate trust and increase collective teacher efficacy and a result of the bonds between teacher and school leaders. Within the intertwined elements of this triadic reciprocal relationship lies the heart of school improvement, teacher empowerment, and student success. The purpose of this text is to operationalize this understanding, bridging the gap between the researcher and the practitioner. Utilizing an action research framework, scenarios are provided with contextual elements often found in schools to support school leaders in their application of research-based strategies to enhance trust, develop enabling school structures, and cultivate collective teacher efficacy.
