Building Bridges of Trust: How Teachers Shape Learning Through Epistemic Trust
In a study published in PLOS One, researchers Alex Desatnik, Maxim Yakubovskiy, Sergei Tarasov, and Peter Fonagy dive into the role of trust in the classroom. They introduce the Epistemic Trust Towards Teacher (ETT) questionnaire, a new tool for measuring how much students trust their teachers—and how that trust shapes learning. Drawing on psychology, pedagogy, and even evolutionary theory, the study makes a strong case: trust isn’t just a nice extra in education, it’s a foundation for meaningful relationships and better outcomes.
At the center of this work is the idea of epistemic trust—the confidence people have that the information shared with them is both authentic and relevant. It’s not just about believing what’s taught, but about feeling that knowledge is meaningful and applicable beyond the classroom. The authors argue that this kind of trust is a fundamental part of human learning, hardwired through evolution. In schools, it can mean the difference between students passively memorizing facts or actively engaging with ideas they can carry into the real world.
But trust doesn’t happen automatically. Teachers have to earn it, often through subtle but powerful ostensive cues—smiling, using a student’s name, showing genuine interest in their perspective. These small actions tell students: you matter here. Without them, mistrust can creep in, leaving students skeptical of a teacher’s intentions and disengaged from learning.
To study how this plays out, the researchers designed the ETT questionnaire, tested with 224 middle schoolers in Moscow. It measures three key dimensions of epistemic trust:
- Trust – confidence that teachers care and notice when students struggle
- Generalization – whether knowledge feels useful beyond the classroom
- Mistrust – doubts about a teacher’s sincerity or sense of fairness
The results paint a clear picture. Trust and generalization are linked to stronger student-teacher relationships, higher motivation, and more engagement. Non-verbal cues—like smiling or physical proximity—also mattered. Mistrust, on the other hand, correlated with conflict and disengagement. Importantly, trust tends to grow over time as students become more familiar with a teacher, suggesting that consistency strengthens relationships.
One of the study’s most compelling insights is around generalization. When students trust their teachers, they’re more likely to see the relevance of lessons and apply them in different contexts—other subjects, everyday problem-solving, even life outside school. That resonates with today’s educational priorities, where critical thinking and adaptability often matter more than memorization.
The researchers also found that epistemic trust fuels motivation. Students who trust their teachers are more inspired to learn—not just for grades, but for the joy and value of knowledge itself. This underlines the relational side of education: motivation doesn’t come only from curriculum or pedagogy, but from the human connection between teacher and student.
Of course, the study has limitations. The sample was relatively homogenous—students from upper-middle-class backgrounds in Moscow—and the age range narrow. Broader studies will be needed to see how epistemic trust works in other contexts, from younger children to university classrooms. And because the study relied on self-reports, it captured students’ perceptions rather than their behaviors. Future research may use observation or long-term studies for deeper insights.
Even so, the findings carry weight for education policy and practice. Teacher training programs, for instance, could put more emphasis on relational skills—helping educators learn how to build trust through everyday interactions. The ETT questionnaire might also serve as a diagnostic tool, highlighting where relationships need strengthening.
Ultimately, this study reframes teaching as more than the transfer of knowledge. It’s about cultivating trust—the kind that not only deepens engagement in the classroom but equips students with the confidence to apply what they’ve learned to the wider world.