Research On The Relationship Between Interpersonal Trust And Knowledge Sharing Among Special Education Teachers

Interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing have an influential role in both teachers’ psychological health and professional development.The Professional Standards for Special Education Teachers（for Trial Implementation）,issued by the Ministry of Education in 2015,suggests that being a special education teacher should be rich in professional knowledge and professional competence.At the same time,the professional mental health of special education teachers has received increasing attention.Special education teachers,due to the special nature of their work and the students they face,are more likely to enhance mutual trust and engage in multidimensional knowledge sharing as a way to enhance professional competence and obtain professional psychological support.Current researches on both knowledge sharing and interpersonal trust,and the relationship between them,are inadequate in the field of special education.This study focused on revising scales available to measure interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing among special education teachers,and exploring the current status and the factors influencing them.This study used a combination methods of quantitative and qualitative research.This aimed to examine the current status and influencing factors of interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing among special education teachers.The research was divided into three main sections.The first part was a revision of the existing interpersonal trust scale and knowledge sharing scale.The process of questionnaire revision was strictly followed to form the final version of the questionnaire.The second part is a study of the current situation,in which 304 special education teachers were surveyed on the level of interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing using the revised questionnaire.The overall characteristics and specific conditions were analyzed.The third part was a study of influencing factors.The influence of each dimension of interpersonal trust on each dimension of knowledge sharing was studied through regression analysis.In addition,six special education teachers were selected for interviews as a way to enrich the findings.The results of the study showed that（1）The reliability and validity were good for the revised Interpersonal Trust and Knowledge Sharing Questionnaire for Special Education Teachers.The structure of the questionnaire was reasonable,which including two dimensions of peer trust and superior trust in the interpersonal trust scale,and three dimensions of motivation,intention and behavior in knowledge sharing.（2）The interpersonal trust level of special education teachers was high,and the trust level for colleagues was higher than the trust level for superiors,and there were more trust behaviors than trust expressions for colleagues and superiors.Special education teachers had stronger motivation and intention to share knowledge and had positive attitudes toward knowledge sharing behaviors.（3）There were significant differences between special education teachers’ interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing dimensions in terms of age,teaching experience,and education.No significant differences in terms of professional categories is found.（4）There was an extremely significant correlation between all dimensions of interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing among special education teachers.Interpersonal trust has a facilitating effect on special education teachers’ knowledge sharing.（5）Teachers’ personal factors,other people’s factors,school factors,and policy factors were the main factors that influenced special education teachers’ knowledge sharing.Based on the findings of the study,the following conclusions can be reached: the revised Interpersonal Trust and Knowledge Sharing Questionnaire for Special Education Teachers has good reliability and validity.It can be used as a research tool to study interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing among special education teachers.The interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing of special education teachers were measured to be high,and interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing showed a significant correlation,in addition to the fact that knowledge sharing was influenced by personal factors,other people’s factors,school factors,and policy factors.Based on the above findings,this study proposes the recommendations,which including individual teachers,school leaders,school management,and system constructs.Firstly,multi-faceted enhancement of teachers’ awareness of knowledge sharing,while advocating the involvement of superiors.Secondly,the creation of a knowledge-sharing atmosphere in special schools should be strengthened at multiple levels.And knowledge-sharing systems and platforms should be constructed.Thirdly,multi-dimensional attention should be paid to the development of interpersonal trust relationships among special education teachers to enhance their sense of professional efficacy.