The Psychological Safety of Indian School Teachers: Where the Mind is Without Fear

A growing body of research has focused on understanding the nature of psychological safety (PS) and recognizing factors contributing to it. Psychological safety describes an individual’s perceptions of the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in a particular context. This study aimed to examine the following research questions: What is the level of PS among Indian school teachers? What are the factors affecting the PS of teachers? And what type of support is expected by teachers to enhance their PS? A mixed-method approach was used to find the answers to these research questions. Neuroception of psychological safety scale (NPSS) by Morton et al. (2021) was used to collect quantitative data from four different districts of Punjab state of India. The focus group technique was used to collect qualitative data. Participants for this study were selected using convenient and purposive sampling. Quantitative data for this study was drawn from 100 school teachers and for qualitative data, 10 participants with extremely low scores and 10 participants with extremely high scores on NPSS were selected for two focus groups to find out the factors contributing to PS of teachers. The results showed that Indian school teachers had an average level of PS. The findings also implied the importance of PS for teachers and revealed that organizational culture, leadership, and teamwork are important factors contributing to PS for teachers.