A measure of college student trust in their instructor

Mark J. Graham; David I. Hanauer; Oriana Aragón; Melanie Bauer; Juliette Bennie; Lia Crowley; Julia Gill; Mia Morgan; Philip M. Reeves; Michelle Withers; Phoebe Yeh; Kathy Zhang; Tong Zhang; Xinnian Chen

doi:10.3389/feduc.2026.1655426

A measure of college student trust in their instructor

Mark J. Graham
, David I. Hanauer
, Oriana Aragón
, Melanie Bauer
, Juliette Bennie
, Lia Crowley
, Julia Gill
, Mia Morgan
, Philip M. Reeves
, Michelle Withers
, Phoebe Yeh
, Kathy Zhang
, Tong Zhang
, Xinnian Chen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Introduction: In this study we aimed to develop a psychometrically validated instrument to measure college students’ trust in their instructor. Recent studies have shown that student trust is positively associated with desired outcome variables like student buy-in, engagement, final grade, and intention to persist in science. Clearly defining and measuring college students’ trust in their instructor can inform teaching strategies, enhance student performance, and create opportunities for more engaging classroom environments. Methods: We developed, collected, and validated a measure of student trust in their instructor. Results and discussion: We established the Trust and Responsiveness in Undergraduate Student Teaching (TRUST) instrument, a 9-item, two factor model. Factor 1 is titled Classroom Trust and Factor 2 as Interpersonal Trust. This instrument contributes to the higher education community’s ongoing efforts to increase student engagement and persistence.

Original language	English
Article number	1655426
Journal	Frontiers in Education
Volume	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1655426
State	Published - 2026
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2026 Graham, Hanauer, Aragón, Bauer, Bennie, Crowley, Gill, Morgan, Reeves, Withers, Yeh, Zhang, Zhang and Chen.

Funding

The author(s) declared that financial support was received for this work and/or its publication. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation EDU Core Research (ECR) program to Mark Graham at Yale University (grant #2000417) and Xinnian Chen at the University of Connecticut (grant #2000613). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Education

Keywords

classroom trust
higher education
instrument validation measuring student trust
interpersonal relationships
relational trust
student trust in instructor
trust dimensions
undergraduate STEM education

Disciplines

Education

Access to Document

10.3389/feduc.2026.1655426License: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "A measure of college student trust in their instructor",

abstract = "Introduction: In this study we aimed to develop a psychometrically validated instrument to measure college students{\textquoteright} trust in their instructor. Recent studies have shown that student trust is positively associated with desired outcome variables like student buy-in, engagement, final grade, and intention to persist in science. Clearly defining and measuring college students{\textquoteright} trust in their instructor can inform teaching strategies, enhance student performance, and create opportunities for more engaging classroom environments. Methods: We developed, collected, and validated a measure of student trust in their instructor. Results and discussion: We established the Trust and Responsiveness in Undergraduate Student Teaching (TRUST) instrument, a 9-item, two factor model. Factor 1 is titled Classroom Trust and Factor 2 as Interpersonal Trust. This instrument contributes to the higher education community{\textquoteright}s ongoing efforts to increase student engagement and persistence.",

keywords = "classroom trust, higher education, instrument validation measuring student trust, interpersonal relationships, relational trust, student trust in instructor, trust dimensions, undergraduate STEM education",

author = "Graham, \{Mark J.\} and Hanauer, \{David I.\} and Oriana Arag{\'o}n and Melanie Bauer and Juliette Bennie and Lia Crowley and Julia Gill and Mia Morgan and Reeves, \{Philip M.\} and Michelle Withers and Phoebe Yeh and Kathy Zhang and Tong Zhang and Xinnian Chen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2026 Graham, Hanauer, Arag{\'o}n, Bauer, Bennie, Crowley, Gill, Morgan, Reeves, Withers, Yeh, Zhang, Zhang and Chen.",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.3389/feduc.2026.1655426",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

journal = "Frontiers in Education",

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AU - Hanauer, David I.

AU - Aragón, Oriana

AU - Bauer, Melanie

AU - Bennie, Juliette

AU - Crowley, Lia

AU - Gill, Julia

AU - Morgan, Mia

AU - Reeves, Philip M.

AU - Withers, Michelle

AU - Yeh, Phoebe

AU - Zhang, Kathy

AU - Zhang, Tong

AU - Chen, Xinnian

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - Introduction: In this study we aimed to develop a psychometrically validated instrument to measure college students’ trust in their instructor. Recent studies have shown that student trust is positively associated with desired outcome variables like student buy-in, engagement, final grade, and intention to persist in science. Clearly defining and measuring college students’ trust in their instructor can inform teaching strategies, enhance student performance, and create opportunities for more engaging classroom environments. Methods: We developed, collected, and validated a measure of student trust in their instructor. Results and discussion: We established the Trust and Responsiveness in Undergraduate Student Teaching (TRUST) instrument, a 9-item, two factor model. Factor 1 is titled Classroom Trust and Factor 2 as Interpersonal Trust. This instrument contributes to the higher education community’s ongoing efforts to increase student engagement and persistence.

AB - Introduction: In this study we aimed to develop a psychometrically validated instrument to measure college students’ trust in their instructor. Recent studies have shown that student trust is positively associated with desired outcome variables like student buy-in, engagement, final grade, and intention to persist in science. Clearly defining and measuring college students’ trust in their instructor can inform teaching strategies, enhance student performance, and create opportunities for more engaging classroom environments. Methods: We developed, collected, and validated a measure of student trust in their instructor. Results and discussion: We established the Trust and Responsiveness in Undergraduate Student Teaching (TRUST) instrument, a 9-item, two factor model. Factor 1 is titled Classroom Trust and Factor 2 as Interpersonal Trust. This instrument contributes to the higher education community’s ongoing efforts to increase student engagement and persistence.

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A measure of college student trust in their instructor

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Keywords

Disciplines

Access to Document

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Cite this