Date
5-20-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Patrick Slowinski
Keywords
gefranco@liberty.edu
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Krajewski, Dariusz, "The Perceived Effects of Safety Coaching on Safety Knowledge and Training Transfer: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8552.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8552
Abstract
Workplace safety remains a concern in municipal environments, where time and resource constraints limit training. This phenomenological study involved an examination of municipal employees’ experiences with safety coaching and how these experiences influenced the transfer of safety knowledge into daily work practice. Transfer of training theory, social cognitive theory, and transformational leadership theory were the theoretical foundations for this study.
The researcher conducted semi-structured virtual interviews with 15 participants. Data analysis followed Moustakas’ (1984) phenomenological approach. The methodological process involved bracketing, horizontalization, clustering into themes, textural and structural descriptions and essence description. The researcher clustered the thematic findings into seven themes: shift from compliance to internalization, psychological safety and trust, emotional influence on learning, reflective awareness, relational impact on safety culture, contextual barriers, and perceived behavioral change. The qualitative findings indicated a relationship between safety coaching and intrinsic motivation, reflective thinking, and improved safety behavior when conducted in a psychologically safe environment, while variability in coaching quality and organizational constraints hindered effectiveness. The findings of this study contribute to research literature on safety coaching by framing it as a worker-centered, multidimensional intervention influencing both knowledge transfer and organizational culture. Interestingly, despite participant representation across different continents, the data indicated consistent patterns, including comparable organizational constraints and similar evaluations of factors associated with effective coaching.
