Are your students safe to learn? The role of lecturer’s authentic leadership in the creation of psychologically safe environments and their impact on academic performance

Abstract

As the role of students and lecturers in higher education changes, several questions emerge about the role of each of them on students’ academic performance. This includes questions regarding the impact of the relationships between students, lecturer’s characteristics and the social environment on students’ performance. To address these questions, this article reports a study of the impact of lecturer authentic leadership, psychological safety and network density on academic performance. It explores the relationship between network density, psychological safety and lecturer authentic leadership. A questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate students. A positive impact of lecturer authentic leadership and psychological safety on academic performance was found. Students from high-density groups tended to show better academic performance, higher psychological safety and tended to see their lecturers as being more authentic. A reflection on the role of the lecturer in higher education settings is presented. It also presents some recommendations on how student academic performance can be improved by the adoption of specific behaviours by their lecturer.