Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of psychological safety (Edmondson, 1999, 2012; Edmondson and Lei, 2014) in the childcare profession in Japan. Recently, there has been considerable interest in early childhood care. For example, a long-term follow-up study by Heckman (2013) found that the quality and environmental richness of early childhood care could promote economic efficiency. An OECD (2019, 2020) report also showed that quality early childhood education and care affects children's early development and subsequent post-school performance, health, and well-being. However, in Japan, there is a chronic shortage of childcare personnel and early retirement owing to overwork and stressful workplace relationships (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2021). As it is essential for childcare workers to communicate with each other, share information, and exchange ideas to provide safe, secure, and high-quality childcare. This study examines the effectiveness of psychological safety in the childcare profession.