126 Journal of School Leadership Volume 19—March 2009 CURT M. ADAMS PATRICK B. FORSYTH The Nature and Function of Trust in Schools ABSTRACT: Our purpose was to advance and test a theoretical model of the na- ture and function of trust in schools. Unlike other studies, ours specified school trust as a latent construct manifested through parent and teacher trust percep- tions. We hypothesized that trust would have a larger direct effect on collective teacher efficacy and achievement motivation than on school performance. Fur- thermore, we predicted that the total effects of trust on school performance would be stronger than the total effect of poverty. We used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Results support the prediction that trust provides a lubri- cant for effective school performance by having more direct influence on social conditions than on actual performance. We also found that trust attenuates the negative relationship between poverty and school achievement. Following Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Edu- cation, 1983), educational reforms addressed structural and technical changes (e.g., a standardized curriculum, standardized testing, and licen- sure requirements; Spring, 2005) that were predicated on achievement problems attributed to deficient teaching. Policies based on a deficit framework derive from the fears of policymakers who generally perceive the teaching task as a simple process that can be controlled through struc- tural reforms (Shulman, 1983). Teaching, along with the administration of schools, is not easily reduced to a few simple processes. Even a cursory look at the major lines of inquiry in educational research (e.g., school ef- fects, teacher effects, student motivation, leadership) suggests that there is not one reform that is capable of ameliorating the complex problems and issues facing public schools. Part of the problem is that school out- comes are affected by a myriad of factors (individual, classroom, school, Address correspondence to Curt M. Adams, University of Oklahoma, 4502 East 41st Street, Tulsa, OK 74135. E-mail: Curt.Adams-1@ou.edu.