The Crisis of Interactive Trust Between Schools and Families from a Relational Perspective: Contexts, Manifestations, and Action Logic

The evolving trust crisis between families and schools constitutes an interactive relational phenomenon entrenched in mutual distrust. This study adopts a relational perspective and draws from interview data with 33 primary and secondary school teachers to delve into the relational context, current manifestations, and underlying action logics driving this crisis. The findings reveal that diminishing trust levels and stability, coupled with the disruption of unidirectional trust structures, have catalyzed a mutual distrust crisis between families and schools. This relationally embedded phenomenon manifests through defensive, transactional, and power-imbalanced interactions, resulting in trust boundary-marking, deficits, and withdrawal. In terms of action logic, both families and schools employ strategic approaches: implementing boundary-demarcation to mitigate operational risks, utilizing exchange tactics to gain strategic advantages, and practicing calculated reservation to safeguard their respective selfinterests. Fundamentally, this mutual trust crisis is characterized by individualistic self-centeredness. Consequently, resolution requires prioritizing relationality in trust-building, recognizing the co-constitutive nature of both parties, and promoting collaborative action frameworks.