Psychological safety and organizational silence in Turkish schools

Organizational silence refers to employees intentionally withholding work-related ideas, concerns, or suggestions. This study examined psychological safety and organizational silence among 160 teachers and school administrators in public secondary schools in Türkiye. A correlational survey design was used. Psychological safety and organizational silence were measured with five-point Likert instruments, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, group comparisons, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression. Psychological safety was high (M = 3.58), whereas organizational silence was low (M = 2.47). The variables were moderately and negatively correlated (r = -.594, p <.001). Psychological safety accounted for 35.3% of the variance in organizational silence; because the design was cross-sectional, this finding indicates association rather than causation. No statistically significant differences were found by gender, position, age, professional seniority, or school type. The findings support school practices that reduce interpersonal risk and enable educators to raise questions and concerns.