Effect of Emotional and Cognitive Trust on Individual Learning: Mediating Role of Social Networks and Knowledge-Sharing

Background & Purpose: Developed on the basis of trust, social networks can facilitate knowledge sharing to help individual learning. This study aimed to analyze the effect of emotional and cognitive trust on the use of social networks and knowledge sharing in learning. Methodology: This is an applied survey, in which the statistical population includes the high school teachers of Mashhad who are the users of social networks, and the statistical sample consisted of 375 teachers. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used for data analysis in AMOS and SPSS. Findings: Emotional and cognitive trust had positive effects on the use of social networks. It was also confirmed that the use of social networks had a positive effect on knowledge sharing; likewise, knowledge sharing affected individual learning positively. Conclusion: Increasing interpersonal trust can provide proper foundations for promoting the use of social networks to share knowledge among teachers, a process which will improve the quality of education system at schools.