To Trust or Not to Trust? Understanding the Science of Developing and Nurturing Trust in Family-Professional Partnerships Webinar

Throughout history, researchers have documented new, ongoing, and growing conflicts between families of students with disabilities and the professionals who serve them. Qualitative and quantitative studies have demonstrated that the majority of these challenges begin with a lack of trust that has either never existed in the partnership or deteriorated as a result of a breakdown in communication, incompatible goals, and/or misunderstanding between parties. In fact, trust is one of the most commonly mentioned partnership barriers discussed in the literature. Despite this acknowledgment of trust, the science of understanding, developing, and nurturing trust is rarely defined or described in a way that supports conflict prevention or resolution between families and professionals. This webinar provides attendees with a roadmap for understanding the science of trust, including strategies that can both develop, nurture, and repair trust between families and professionals.

About the Presenter: Dr. Tracy Gershwin is a Professor at the University of Northern Colorado where she teaches undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral level courses in special education. Tracy’s specialization and research focus on qualitative research methodology, increasing family-professional partnership practices through collaboration and consultation, conflict prevention and resolution in special education, educational law, applied behavior analysis, and interventions for children and youth with challenging behaviors.

Date:  August 26, 2021
Time:  2:30 PM – 4:00 PM ET (11:30 AM – 1:00 PM PT)