Causes of Faculty Members' Silence

Abstract

This study aims to research the causes of faculty members' silence and whether they differ significantly according to some demographic variables. The population of the study includes faculty members of Kocaeli University, Sakarya University and Namik Kemal University (except Faculty of Medicine), and the sample includes 459 faculty members. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA with the help of SPSS. In this study, we determined that faculty members remain silent due to organisational regulations, acquiescence, fear of damaging relations with co-workers, fear of damaging relations with supervisor, self-defense and lack of self-confidence respectively. Causes of faculty members' silence were found to differ according to age, level of education, academic title and duration of employment in the organisation. Findings of the study showed that instructors, research assistants and lecturers are more silent compared to assistant professors, associate professors and professors. Instructors are the most silent while professors are the least silent.